Celts will be surging with belief after their Ibrox masterclass
ICAN’T praise Rangers enough for delivering another big performance to reach the last four of the Europa League. It’s an incredible achievement given where the club had been 10 years ago. But making the semifinal of a European competition does not lessen the pressure on Giovanni van Bronckhorst and his players going into today’s Scottish Cup showdown with Celtic.
Rangers’ name was last etched on the trophy in 2009. For a club of this standing and tradition, that is far too long. And, while they remain alive in three competitions, this is their best chance of silverware.
There’s no doubt Celtic would have loved to have been contesting a quarter-final on Thursday night.
But as they woke up this morning, Ange Postecoglou and his players will have been glad that as Rangers were knocking their pan in against Braga, they were resting.
Rangers could have done without extra-time at Ibrox, but the physical fatigue will be offset by the emotional high of getting through.
Giovanni faces a juggling act to balance an upcoming semi against RB Leipzig with the team’s domestic commitments — but at Rangers the demand never goes away.
Once that ball rolls today the fans will want more. The team must try and get the club into a cup final.
It goes without saying that Celtic will be better prepared physically, and mentally they will have taken such a boost from their performance at Ibrox a fortnight ago.
I was so impressed with the way Postecoglou’s players handled that game. As a manager, you always look to see how your team reacts to conceding a goal.
Rangers scored in the third minute and threatened to swamp Celtic in those early stages. Tom Rogic’s equaliser came quickly, but the gap between the goals felt longer as Rangers kept pushing and beating Celtic’s press early in the game.
It was blood and thunder, the Ibrox crowd was right up for it. There were very few Celtic fans in the ground, so it was Rangers at full throttle on and off the pitch.
It was bedlam in the stands. It was intimidating, as you would expect. Ninety nine times out of 100, the rivalry will remain as just that but the bottle-throwing was something everyone could do without.
Yet, there was a calmness, a resilience about Celtic that allowed them to go on and win the game.
There’s no doubt they were under serious pressure and Rangers will be kicking themselves that they allowed Celtic the release valve of that equaliser.
Rangers had Celtic where they wanted them but let a winning position slip away. Celtic regained composure and dealt with the rest of the game.
At the start of that season, I’m not sure they would have managed that. But they have developed a coping mechanism for the biggest battle of all.
Much has been spoken about Celtic’s effectiveness in possession and the overloads in midfield and attack that can lead to goals.
But, for me, the way they won at
Ibrox was through something else — robust defending, composure in the heat of battle and resilience.
It wasn’t the free-flowing football that saw them win 3-0 at home in February, but it was a no-less impressive way to win.
Contrast that to Rangers’ response to going behind at Parkhead. Celtic won that night by asking questions of their rivals’ resolve and defensive organisation. Rangers rallied in the second half but the game was already gone.
No Old Firm game will be one-sided for 90 minutes. That’s why today’s semi-final will be fascinating.
The front three of Kemar Roofe, Ryan Kent and Joe Aribo picks itself. Rangers have been waiting for Aribo to get back to his levels and he did that against Braga.
Midfield is where Giovanni might want to freshen it up. He has Glen Kamara, Scott Arfield and Steven Davis available and I wouldn’t be surprised to see one or more of them step in.
I don’t think tiredness will be an issue in the early stages. The start of the game will be the easy part — it will be harder to keep up with the intensity of a high-energy Celtic team as the match develops and substitutes will be important.
For Celtic, Joe Hart, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt were very robust at Ibrox.
They will be trusted again... but the main question surrounds the centre-forward position.
I don’t know Ange Postecoglou well enough to second guess his comments on Kyogo Furuhashi’s readiness to start.
Even the straightest of managers like to keep things up their sleeves, so I wouldn’t necessarily take as gospel last weekend’s comments that he wouldn’t be starting.
But, even off the bench, Kyogo’s effervescence could be a problem for tired legs.
I always say to my centre-backs that they need to be ready. They might be up against a 6ft 4in striker from the start and then have to deal with a young energetic striker coming on after 75 minutes. You have to be fit enough to deal with that dynamic.
Losing Giorgos Giakoumakis is a blow, but I do think he would be the preferred opponent for Connor Goldson and Leon Balogun.
Rangers have the experience and know-how to deal with the atmosphere and expectation of the game. Europe shows that. However, they need to be really tight defensively.
Midfield will swing back and forth but Celtic carry the greater attacking threat.
If Rangers are going to win, then the bedrock for that will be keeping a clean sheet because, as I keep saying, without Alfredo Morelos they are not awash with goals.
Kemar Roofe scored his hat-trick last weekend and got a goal again in midweek but doesn’t offer the same edge as Morelos.
Both teams will want to start well and own the pitch early on. But Celtic have shown they have more than one way to win this game.