League Cup final: Can Rangers find a way to dent Celtic domination?
There have been 17 meetings since Anj Postekoglu arrived in Glasgow since the start of his latest period of complete dominance. Of those 1,560 minutes (including extra-time in the 2022 Scottish Cup semi-final), Rangers have led for just 154 minutes, 85 of which came in the dead-end derby two seasons ago when Celtic were already locked in Premier League title.
Rangers have scored just three times in those 17 games since Postkoglu and Rodgers took control like a vice.
Kyogo, who scored eight goals, has been grabbing the headlines these days, but McGregor is the man who ties it all together. Few Rangers teams know how to stop him from commanding the tempo and influencing results.
So when a seasoned observer of the Ibrox scene stopped for a chat on Thursday, his mantra on Sunday was to score first, something they had failed to do in the Old Firm derby – and to all the strays Someone from the Defenders apologized, but the 3-0 game in May 2023 is as irrelevant as these games have been since April 2022. Aaron Ramsey is the scorer.
Of course, scoring first that day didn’t do much good for the Wanderers. They were still beaten. Sometimes, for a few games or for an entire game, the Rangers played well. They performed well in the Scottish Cup final last season but lost. They had a good run last May after John Lundstram was sent off, but ended up losing 2-1.
In the previous game, they showed great resilience and eventually drew 3-3. They should have won against Ibrox in January 2023, but Keigo equalized two minutes from time.
Rangers have not won the Old Firm Derby in six attempts. Three years ago, they won one in 13 games and three in 17 games. Will we see a more convincing Rangers team come together? Possible, but Celtic are always the real test and they remain the favourites.
Somehow, Clement has to ensure his boys’ emotions are as high at Hampton as they were at Ibrox, while adding more accuracy and more brutality to the game.
The Rangers are struggling with the availability of John Souttar while trying to prepare for veteran whack-a-mole. Trades with Maeda and Kyogo popped up, trades with Kyogo and Nicholas Kuhn became a problem for them, trades with Kuhn and Adam Ida became backups and did their job at death, just like he did Just like they did in the Hamptons in May.
Thursday did drive away the last of the wolves from Clement’s doorstep, the growlers who wanted him gone. But he knew, as everyone else knew, that the only way to get rid of them permanently was to add one to their biggest rival.
For his own reputation, but also for the motivation of his team. Rangers really need to win this trophy. Of course, Rangers’ needs were never a concern for Celtic. Whether it’s grace or grunt, they almost always find a way to win. It’s hard to see them stopping now.
