Callum McGregor may have missed Celtic’s win against Rangers in the Scottish Cup, but thankfully, there were others who stepped up at Ibrox.
McGregor is almost always an ever-present for the Hoops but missed the game due to a knock, according to Martin O’Neill.
There were fears that Celtic would crumble without their captain’s influence, but there are a number of players who rose to the occasion and did themselves proud.
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Liam Scales
As the 32-year-old was forced to watch from the sidelines at Ibrox, O’Neill made the decision to hand the armband to Liam Scales.
He was already playing out of position in the left-back slot but also had the added weight of leading the side out.
Scales took that in his stride and was colossal in defence, winning and clearing everything. The Ireland international was a calming presence and has proved that he could be a viable long-term captain once McGregor hangs his boots up.
Julian Araujo
Julian Araujo is turning into the second coming of Scott Brown with his passion on the pitch, but also his ability to wind up Rangers fans.
Araujo didn’t have a man of the match performance but epitomised everything you want from a Hoops player in a Glasgow derby.
He immediately went and celebrated with the away fans after Tomas Cvancara’s winning penalty before trolling the home fans when walking down the tunnel.
Fans love players who fight for the shirt and you can’t accuse the Mexican of never doing that.
Reo Hatate
After a season of sulking and looking disinterested, Reo Hatate has changed his tune and been brilliant these past few games.
We usually see the Japanese midfielder deployed in an attacking midfield role; however, he was more defensive than we’ve ever seen.
Celtic’s run of fixtures before the the SPFL split.
How many points are we picking up from these?
Hatate clocked up almost 12km across the 120 minutes and stepped up from 12 yards once again in the penalty shootout.
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