Celtic are through to the Scottish Cup final after beating Rangers 1-0 at Hampden on Sunday afternoon.
A first-half Jota goal, supplied by Daizen Maeda, was enough to secure a famous victory and ensure that the trophy march under Ange Postecoglou continues at a fierce pace.
As expected, it was a difficult and well-contested 90 minutes, but ultimately another game that Celtic have proved themselves as the best team in Scotland. What are the big takeaways? Here are three of ours…
Rangers exposed by sharp-thinking Celtic again
How often have we seen Rangers caught flat-footed in the box against this sharp-thinking Ange Postecoglou team? Liel Abada has been masterful in capitalising on it over the past couple of seasons. It happened again today but it was Daizen Maeda who showed lightning reactions to steal the ball in the Rangers box before expertly crossing for Jota to head home.
They were exposed badly, with Ibrox captain James Tavernier seemingly unaware of the Portuguese winger slipping into space behind him. Celtic’s in-built ‘never stop’ desire has paid out for the Bhoys again, to the direct detriment of our rivals who just can’t seem to handle it.
Switching off against Celtic is something you would have thought they learned not to do by now but time and again the Bhoys find a way to create the opportunity that truly punishes them. In tight, competitive derbies, that is absolutely the difference right now.
Celtic bravery
Today, like the last derby win, certainly didn’t go all our own way across the 90 minutes. There were spells of the match, as you would expect, that Rangers manage to dictate and put pressure on the Celts. Yet again though, this team have shown the bravery and determination to succeed at all costs.
It was a physical battle, too. Alistair Johnston collided with Borna Barisic and had to be forced off, while Cameron Carter-Vickers came through the wars to consistently clear his line and stand up to the challenge. It’s the side of this Celtic team that has been less heralded at times, given their sensational attacking threat this season.
Ultimately Celtic have shown that they truly are unstoppable at a domestic level, even if the free-flowing and pretty football isn’t on tap. This isn’t a team that just produces nice football, though they certainly can. First and foremost it is a team of winners.
The treble is on
If fans, players and staff had tried to play down the prospect of a treble before today, it will be hard to do now. Celtic are undoubtedly now on the brink of a famous clean sweep in Scottish football, which would be the first of the Ange Postecoglou reign.
It still can’t be taken for granted, of course. There are still a couple of points in the league needed and Inverness Caledonian Thistle are well capable of a cup upset on their day, as we well know.
Theoretically, however, our toughest tests are now behind us. Rangers haven’t been able to touch us the League Cup, the Scottish Premiership and now the Scottish Cup. If Celtic play to their capabilities, a massive few weeks is ahead to clinch a trophy haul that will be celebrated by fans for a long time.
In other news, The Green Brigade close in on full stadium tifo target; another special Celtic day ahead.
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