IT’S A DERBY DAY DEMOLITION JOB
Postecoglou’s hit squad outclass Rangers again at Parkhead and revel as gap widens even more
THERE’S a five-point gap at the top of the cinch Premiership — but the gulf in quality in this first Glasgow derby of the season was as wide as the Clyde.
In a performance reminiscent of the three-goal demolition at Parkhead that turned the tide in last year’s title race, Celtic blew away Rangers in a three-goal first-half blitz.
The difference this time was that they added a fourth, although that had less to do with attacking persistence than a dreadful piece of goalkeeping that underlined one of the glaring issues facing Giovanni van Bronckhorst just days after the closure of the transfer window.
In derbies past, Allan McGregor has at times offered a one-man barrier to Celtic. Jon McLaughlin, his anointed successor, commands neither his area nor respect with anything like the same authority.
The dam burst early when McLaughlin’s weak hand failed to keep out Liel Abada’s opener in the eighth minute of this match. A while later, the little Israeli’s second crashed through his legs.
If the goalkeeper could do little about the exquisite second scored by Jota in between, the moment that saw him pass straight to the feet of David Turnbull for the fourth was one of those crushing moments that could easily tilt into trauma and chronically damage confidence.
Ahead of a Champions League opener in Amsterdam this week, Van Bronckhorst may feel he has no choice but to turn back to McGregor, who’s closing in on his 41st birthday.
There was no sympathy from the Celtic fans, of course, who revelled in a victory that extended the tempo and thrust of last weekend’s ninegoal deluge at Tannadice.
And it would be wrong to boil this game down to an analysis of poor goalkeeping when Celtic’s attacking play was so relentlessly slick.
Postecoglou hardly needs vindication against those who continue to doubt his unwavering commitment to his principles but he will be glad of the reinforcement of his message to his players ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League opener against Real Madrid.
In the other dugout, Van Bronckhorst has proved himself tactically nimble during his 10 months as Ibrox boss. He had a few things to ponder going into a game against free-scoring opponents. The key decision hinged on the mix of his midfield and he opted to bring in the experience and nous of Steven Davis alongside John Lundstram and Glen Kamara, with Malik Tillman pushed forward in support of Ryan Kent and Antonio Colak.
As sharp as the Dutchman may be, he cannot account for the presence of mind of his players in the moment. Certainly, he could not legislate for the concession of an early opening goal from a simple throw-in, one which his captain James Tavernier failed to read.
Jota saw the opportunity to get a jump on his opponents and hurled the ball into the box for the sprinting Matt O’Riley, who left Tavernier in his wake then angled the ball into the middle where Abada had made a run across the front post.
McLaughlin got a hand to the Israeli’s shot but merely slowed the ball’s progress over the line.
Abada’s hat-trick at Tannadice last week forced him up Postecoglou’s pecking order, the little Israeli getting the nod ahead of Daizen Maeda for a wide position.
His inclusion allows Jota to play a role on the left, where he seems to do his most incisive work.
With both eager to make darting runs into scoring positions, this was a head-spinning afternoon for the Rangers defence, even before they dealt with the incessant probing of O’Riley and Hatate.
Prior to the opener, Postecoglou had been forced to activate a backup plan, due to an injury sustained by top scorer Kyogo Furuhashi from kick-off.
Lundstram competed hard with the little Japanese, who went down clutching his shoulder. His attempt to continue was quickly aborted, with Giorgos Giakoumakis sent on in his place. The Greek’s targetman properties couldn’t differ more from Kyogo’s ghostly approach to the striker’s position, but Celtic barely missed a beat.
O’Riley’s cross gave Giakoumakis the chance to score a quick second but he couldn’t quite get the right headed connection. And there perhaps should have been a penalty when Kent lunged in hard on Abada in the box.
Without the cushion of a second goal, Celtic remained susceptible to the Rangers counter. Colak was close to connecting with a Borna Barisic cross and was presented with a surprise chance when Carl Starfelt misplaced a header and invited the Croat to try a long lob over Joe Hart. Compared to the penalty-box service the Croat has thrived on this season, these were half chances.
Celtic’s dominance was absolute, with the rotation of O’Riley, Hatate, Jota and Abada leaving Rangers dizzy. The excellent O’Riley was again on hand to deliver the irresistible service for the second, this time a defence-splitting pass setting Jota free on the right channel. Unfazed by the angle, the Portuguese dinked the cutest of finishes over McLaughlin.
The only unexpected aspect of the third was that O’Riley played a minimal part. Greg Taylor has been in the best form of his career in the opening weeks of the season and claimed an assist with the cut-back that took a nick off O’Riley on its way through to Abada, who drilled a finish through McLaughlin’s legs.
The keeper might have done better but he would be equally entitled to ask questions of defender James Sands who had afforded too much space for the second time.
Back in February, the handbrake went on as Celtic consolidated and, again, the 15-minute break saw some momentum seep away.
Having thrown Scott Wright on at the break, Van Bronckhorst eventually called on Alfredo Morelos, whose arrival was sarcastically cheered to the rafters by the home fans. For all the Colombian’s faults, and they are well documented, he offers a broader skill set than Colak.
There was precious little for him to work with here but he did at least display a willingness to come short and knit play, although his one shooting chance resulted in a pretty poor, skewed effort wide.
Postecoglou has been making full use of his own bench and gave Abada, O’Riley and Hatate a rest with a quarter of an hour remaining.
Substitute Turnbull carried on some of O’Riley’s sterling work but would have expected to work harder for his first goal of the season.
Originally recruited as back-up to McGregor, there has been little in McLaughlin’s prior career to suggest he was capable of stepping up to claim the No1 role permanently.
A solid professional and a decent enough shot stopper, he patently does not have the personality of McGregor. The brainstorm moment when he gave up the fourth, which saw him freeze with the ball at his feet and roll it into Turnbull’s path for a calm finish, was painful to behold.