That Celtic were regarded as underdogs heading into this fixture nodded towards a prevailing sense that their domestic stranglehold was weakening. This notion was dismissed in emphatic fashion by Neil Lennon and his players. All the stars were in hoops, with Christopher Jullien the standout at the heart of Celtic’s defence. “It was a perfect performance,” purred Lennon afterwards.

While Lennon stuck to tried and tested means in setting up his team, Steven Gerrard made rookie errors. Celtic took an early grip on the game, and Rangers were unable to create enough momentum to claw their way back. The most menacing act from the hosts, in fact, came in stoppage-time, when Jordan Jones recklessly upended Moritz Bauer and earned a red card. The match was refereed leniently by Bobby Madden, highlighting the brutality of Jones’s challenge.

Claims of a changing of the domestic guard in Scotland had not been lost on Lennon. Even a Sky Sports promo video, which featured Gerrard but not Lennon, struck a negative chord with the Irishman. “We were an afterthought,” he said. “I was, the board was. It was all about the opposition and what they’d do to us. We take it as a slight at us. We were very motivated, very hungry. You want us to fail because we have been so dominant but we are determined not to give up our title just yet.”

It was difficult to argue with Lennon’s sentiment. His opposite number, whose team were especially tepid in the first half, did not seek to sugar-coat the defeat. “I was expecting a lot more,” said Gerrard. “You’ve got to have the majority of players at it. Across the board we weren’t good enough. You can’t expect to win an Old Firm derby when the majority of players are off. It was a poor performance all round and I’m part of that. We will take the criticism for it. We have had a lot of praise and now we will have to take some criticism. We got what we deserved today.”

On the absence of wingers against a team whose full-backs have been questioned, Gerrard added: “The system has worked before. I expected more from the players.” The tempo and high pressing Rangers implemented successfully against Celtic at Ibrox last season was glaringly absent.

A defensive blunder played a part in the first-half’s key moment. Connor Goldson waited, waited and waited on the ball as he wandered from centre-half to Rangers’ right-back position. The former Brighton man then passed straight to Mikey Johnston, who returned the ball with interest straight to Odsonne Edouard, who delivered a typically cool finish under the advancing Allan McGregor.

Rangers were far too lame in attack to seriously trouble Fraser Forster. Celtic’s on-loan goalkeeper did save from Sheyi Ojo before Scott Arfield flicked a header wide. The visitors added gloss to the victory late on as Johnny Hayes tapped home at the second attempt, McGregor having saved his initial effort.

The behaviour of the Rangers support has been in focus lately following firm action from Uefa, so the songs emanating from the Ibrox stands were worthy of attention. It feels strange to offer praise towards people for behaving properly, but there was a notable improvement in the chosen verse. Without going into the lyrical minutiae of a depressing scene, perhaps the penny has finally dropped. The same can probably be said as regards the identity of Scotland’s pre-eminent team. Nothing has changed there.