Scotland: Celtic ease to win in Glasgow Derby

Celtic 3 - 0 Rangers

Celtic continued their recent dominance in the Glasgow derby with a straightforward win over Rangers in the Scottish Premiership.

Arriving as strong favourites on their home turf, the champions weathered an early burst of energy from Rangers before reasserting their familiar control.

Daizen Maeda calmly finished from close range after a cross from Alistair Johnston, with Rangers caught off guard from a simple throw-in.

Earlier, Kyogo had a goal disallowed for offside against Nicolas Kuhn. Still, the Japanese striker soon added to his impressive derby tally with a precise strike from the edge of the box.

Rangers were fortunate not to be further behind by half-time and came out with more intensity in the second half. However, Cyriel Dessers squandered a key chance, firing tamely at Kasper Schmeichel when a sharper finish could have reignited the game.

The second half was more subdued, with chances for both sides. Kyogo surprisingly hit the side-netting after being played through, while Ross McCausland and John Souttar both missed opportunities for Rangers.

Callum McGregor eventually sealed the win with a powerful shot from the edge of the box, pushing Celtic five points clear of their rivals after just four league games.

A closer look at what happened

Much of this Celtic display mirrored their recent derby dominance. They controlled the midfield, overwhelmed the Rangers full-backs, and scored again from a cutback during a frantic first half.

McGregor, usually the team's orchestrator, had a quieter game until he smashed in the third goal. Meanwhile, Paulo Bernardo was tireless, his energy lifting Celtic after an uncharacteristically sluggish start.

Brendan Rodgers has spoken about how their pre-season preparations have improved the team's performance without the ball, and that was evident once more. They dominated the battles and pressured Rangers into mistakes.

One of these errors led to Celtic's second goal when Greg Taylor intercepted a poor pass into midfield and found Kyogo, who calmly slotted the ball past Jack Butland’s despairing dive.

All the signs suggest that Celtic will be stronger than last season, both in their evolution under Rodgers and overall squad depth which has bolstered by their recent transfer business.

This is a worrying prospect for Rangers and the rest of Scottish football. For Celtic, the familiar feel of derby success is reassuring, but for Rangers. They’ve won just one of the last 12 meetings, and that came after the league had already been decided.

Rangers had started brightly, pressing Celtic and creating space out wide. But after Kyogo’s disallowed goal, they seemed to crumble. Their discipline faded, as did the impact of their midfield trio—Connor Barron, Mohamed Diomande, and Dujon Sterling.

Once again, James Tavernier switched off at the back post, losing out to Maeda in their ongoing battle.

It’s not that Rangers didn’t have their moments. But, as has been the case for far too long, they couldn’t capitalise when opportunities arose.

Philippe Clement has now failed to win his first five derbies, losing four—a record only matched by Rangers’ first manager, William Wilton. The Belgian manager has stressed the need for patience as he rebuilds the squad with younger players.

He has been firefighting since he arrived 10 months ago, but there’s still little evidence of a clear style or game plan. Rangers need to find one quickly, or the patience of some fans will run out completely.