PEDRO Caixinha arrived in Scotland with a reputation as a swashbuckling Portuguese matador but perhaps he has greater sympathy now for what the bull goes through on these occasions.
On his first taste of the unique gladatorial thrills of the Glasgow derby - aside from a beginners' guide as he watched on from the tribunes at Celtic Park last month - he saw his team tormented, hunted down and ultimately gored by an insatiable Celtic side intent on claiming the historic treble which is now well within their grasp.
Just a year after Rangers had signalled notice of their re-emergence as a force to be reckoned with in Scottish football with a famous semi-final win at this venue, from the moment Callum McGregor steered in an 11th minute opener, there was the same inevitability of outcome here as most bullfights. In front of the watching Rod Stewart would perhaps agree, this was mostly plain sailing.
We were past the hour mark by the time a Kenny Miller header first dirtied Craig Gordon's gloves, and while the Ibrox side did succeed in staging a late flurry of attempts on the Celtic goal, it was equally true that only some solid shot-stopping from Wes Foderingham and the width of the post from a late Tom Rogic shot prevented the biggest moment of this 46-year-old's itinerant managerial career from coming to an even messier end.
At least, after an afternoon prowling his technical area, Caixinha was able to walk away at the end, sharing a lengthy embrace and conversation with Brendan Rodgers, before walking up the tunnel to think again before the two teams lock horns again at Ibrox next Saturday.
There had been no shortage of bravado earlier in the day as Caixinha took the bull by the horns with an adventurous team selection which included Old Firm debuts for David Bates and Martyn Waghorn, a 20-year-old and an 18-year-old whose combined first-team experience with the club doesn't yet stretch into double figures.
He named a line-up replete with attacking players - Martyn Waghorn, Kenny Miller, Joe Garner all started - and was equally bold by introducing Joe Dodoo and Barrie McKay into the fray when his first half contingent could summon up only a timid display. For the record, Beerman found himself booked for a rash challenge on Patrick Roberts, then got the benefit of the doubt for a second foul on the same player, and Bates didn't disgrace himself either.
But it was perhaps fitting, considering the errant sweep of Rogic's left boot in that shoot-out 12 months back, that the clinching moment should come from the same Hampden penalty spot. Defeat to Rangers in that match had been like a red rag to a bull for Dermot Desmond, Peter Lawwell and the other Celtic directors, setting in motion a chain of events which led to the departure of Ronny Deila and the appointment of Brendan Rodgers.
Celtic had named seven of the team which had lost that day under Ronny Deila, to Rangers' six, and a week of intrigue and innuendo over the appointment of Don Robertson as goalline assistant for this match ended with Willie Collum correctly determining that James Tavernier had infringed the rules when bringing substitute Leigh Griffiths crashing to the turf. Foderingham guessed right and dived right, palming the ball onto the post, only to look up in dismay as the ball sneaked into the net at the other post.
Sinclair hadn't been at the club back then - and Celtic have won three and drawn one of the four Old Firm matches since - but this revenge mission will have been even sweeter for those who were. Not least of these was McGregor, one of a number of penalty sinners a year back, whose support run and guided finish with Andy Halliday or Jason Holt nowhere to be seen was a thing of beauty.
As usual, local infrastructure was creaking to accommodate the massed ranks of football followers who converged on Scotland's national stadium for this lunchtime kick off. So congested was the M74 pre-match that supporters could be spotted traipsing along the hard shoulder and slip roads after deciding that doing the final yards on foot was the best option. Celtic too are into the home straight of what has the look of an epic season. Only six matches now remain between them and their own unique piece of history and this win guarantees that their season will go the distance.
Next up, in the quest for the first invincible Scottish season is Ibrox in six days' time. It is a match which Celtic must negotiate without Dembele, who crumpled to the turf half an hour in to be replaced by Leigh Griffiths, and perhaps their captain, if his appeal against his dismissal in Dingwall is unsuccessful. But if Pedro Caixinha was at all unsure what he is letting himself in for - he claimed at his unveiling that he had the best squad in the country - he certainly knows now.
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