Analysis: Rangers

Steven Gerrard set his Rangers team up in a 4-1-4-1 formation, with Ross McCrorie operating between the defensive and midfield lines. Daniel Candeias, Scott Arfield, Ryan Jack and Ryan Kent operated as a midfield four behind lone forward Alfredo Morelos.

Rangers had two main sources of attack. The first was to play direct passes to Morelos – either into his feet for him to hold the play up and bring others into the attack, or into the channels between centre-back and full-back for him to chase. These runs into the channels would trigger the attacking runs of central midfielders Arfield and Jack towards the Celtic box.

The other source of Rangers attacks was in the wide areas. The relationship between full-back, wide midfielder and central midfielder was important in creating these opportunities. Full-backs Andy Halliday and particularly James Tavernier played in advanced positions to assist with the combinations and effectively eliminate the Celtic full-backs. It was from wide play on the left that Rangers scored the only goal of the game, with Kent eventually setting back for namesake Jack to finish through the legs of Celtic captain Scott Brown.

Out of possession, Rangers remained in their 4-1-4-1 structure and initiated an aggressive high press against Celtic whenever they tried to play out from the back. If Morelos stepped up to press goalkeeper Craig Gordon, Kent would move in from the left to cover Dedryck Boyata while Arfield would lock on to Scott Brown. At other times, Morelos pressed the centre-backs; this allowed Kent and Candeias to press the full-backs on their side, while Arfield stayed on Brown. Jack and McCrorie would then deal with Olivier Ntcham and Ryan Christie.

In the second half, the hosts were happier to operate in a deeper structure, and let Boyata and substitute Kristoffer Ajer have the ball. With Morelos staying high, Rangers always had an out ball once they regained possession, which in turn meant they weren’t just gifting the ball back to Celtic. Further back, the defensive line of four were on the front foot throughout the game; they were always happy to step out with Celtic players dropping and prevent them from turning. This worked to negate much of the visitors’ threat, helping Rangers secure a clean sheet – and a first league win over their great rivals since March 2012.