THE draining 2,300 mile journey back to Scotland from Russia late on Thursday night was, while not used by manager Steven Gerrard or any of his players as an excuse for this defeat, far from ideal preparation for Rangers’ first meeting of the season with Celtic yesterday.
Having just 800 of their supporters cheering them on in a 58,865-strong crowd at Parkhead – a direct consequence of their own decision to slash their city rivals’ ticket allocation for games Ibrox – also significantly reduced their chances of success.
And only working as a group for a matter of weeks also put the Glasgow club at a distinct disadvantage against opponents who have forged a strong bond as a result of the many success they have enjoyed domestically and in Europe in the past two years.
It may very well be a different story when these two clubs next meet in December - when Rangers will not have travelled overseas for a fortnight, will have just shy of 50,000 of their fans behind them and will, in all likelihood, be a far more cohesive unit after half a year together.
Yet, the evidence of the first Old Firm derby of the 2018/19 campaign is that the gulf in quality with Celtic on the park remains considerable and is unlikely to be bridged in the coming months.
A solitary goal, netted by the outstanding Olivier Ntcham in the second-half, was all that separated the teams at the end of 90 minutes. But the home side could have won by a far more emphatic scoreline such was their dominance. They hit the woodwork four times, twice in each half, and missed an absolute sitter.
That came five minutes before half-time when Odsonne Edouard, their record £9 million signing got on the end of a Callum McGregor chip on the edge of the six yard box. Allan McGregor did, as has frequently been the case in the opening weeks of this season, superbly and palmed that downward header wide. But the striker should really have done far better. That he had not played in three weeks showed.
McGregor went on to brilliantly deny Ntcham early in the second-half and then Leigh Griffiths with five minutes of regulation time remaining. The visitors, though, were very lucky their goalkeeper was on the park.
McGregor had kicked Kristoffer Ajer off the ball in the first-half after collecting and clearing a free-kick by his namesake. The incident was missed by both referee Willie Collum and his assistant Frank Connor. Gerrard later conceded that his player should have been ordered off.
The former Liverpool and England midfielder felt that Collum should have halted play in the build-up to the Ntcham goal because he felt that Ryan Jack had been fouled by Tom Rogic. But, regardless of whether it was a free-kick, the challenge occurred in the middle of the Celtic half. His charges should still have dealt with the situation far better.
This may not have been as humiliating for Rangers as the drubbings they suffered in the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden last April or in the final Premiership match against Celtic at Parkhead in May. But it could so very easily have been if their opponents had been more clinical in the final third.
Much was made of the battle of wits between Gerrard and Brendan Rodgers, his former manager at Anfield, in the weeks leading up to this game. Would the rookie manager be able to get the better of his former mentor? But it is ultimately the resources each man has at his disposal that makes the difference.
Rangers, who fought doggedly to the death for an equaliser, are certainly a more formidable unit this term than last and they will improve further with time and games. But this encounter underlined, as if any reminder was needed, that Celtic continue to operate at a far higher level both on and off the park.
Rodgers, who had the whole Moussa Dembele debacle to contend with last week, certainly feels that Gerrard has lifted them and anticipates they will provide a far greater challenge than was previously the case. But he envisages his men, who were comfortably superior yesterday, have more to offer too.
“There’s no doubt Steven has made a difference going in there,” he said. “He has brought in some good players and they have got good tactical discipline in their game, so he had done very well. Steven will expect his team to get better as the season goes on. I will expect my team to be better as well.”
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