Rangers thrashed Celtic 3-0 at Ibrox on Sunday to reach the Premier Sports Cup semi-finals, with captain Dan Neil scoring twice in a dominant Old Firm derby win.
The result gave Derek McInnes his first victory over Celtic since taking charge of Rangers, and came just weeks after Celtic suffered an 8-1 aggregate defeat against LASK in Austria in their two biggest matches of the season so far.
Celtic manager Martin O'Neill did not attempt to disguise the scale of the defeat afterwards. "We were well beaten," he said. "We were second best. Hopefully, it's a wake-up call."
Before the match, O'Neill had recalled his first spell in charge of Celtic, when a 6-2 win over Rangers in the opening Old Firm derby of the season was followed by a heavy reverse the next time the sides met. "The second one wasn't that good," he said. "We got mauled, absolutely bleached 5-1 at Ibrox."
Neil gets the better of McGregor
The individual battle between Neil and Celtic captain Callum McGregor summed up the afternoon. Neil, the heartbeat of the Rangers midfield, scored twice, including a second goal that curled into the top corner to make it 3-0. McGregor, by contrast, was error-strewn in a fixture he has often dominated, and was seen telling team-mates "no more goals" as Celtic shifted into damage limitation.
Celtic created almost nothing in the match. Rangers goalkeeper Ivor Pandur had so little to do that O'Neill's side would have fared no better had he spent the afternoon reading a book. A Celtic midfield three of McGregor, Mika Baur and Benjamin Nygren struggled to cope with the energy and aggression Rangers showed, a pattern also seen against LASK.
New signings struggle to adapt
Kasper Hogh, Celtic's most expensive summer signing at £11million, spent much of the game in the pocket of Rangers defender Olwethu Makhanya. Sebastian Tounekti was anonymous on the left wing, while goalkeeper Sam Johnstone looked nervy. O'Neill said some of Celtic's new arrivals had experienced a culture shock and needed to learn the magnitude of the fixture.
Rangers striker Kevin Kelsy scored on his Old Firm debut as Rangers built momentum in what was described as their best performance yet under McInnes, the win their fifth in a row heading into the return fixture at Celtic Park.
Title race table
Celtic still top the Scottish Premiership after six wins from six matches, 18 points and a goal difference of plus 11. Rangers sit on 13 points from the same number of games, while Hearts have 12 points and a game in hand against Falkirk on Sunday night.
Were Celtic to beat Rangers in the league rematch at Celtic Park this coming Sunday, they would move eight points clear before the end of September. But McGregor said afterwards that a result like Sunday's had been coming, pointing to chances Celtic had already been conceding in domestic matches.
Hearts add a third contender
Hearts, managed by Wouter Vrancken, have been scoring freely and looking organised after a shaky start to their European campaign, adding a third team to what had looked like a two-horse title race between Celtic and Rangers.
A side capable of taking points from both Celtic and Rangers would open up the season considerably, and Hearts' form suggests they are not merely making up the numbers behind the Glasgow clubs.
What happens next
Rangers travel to Celtic Park next Sunday in the league with genuine belief after ending their wait for an Old Firm win over O'Neill's side. Celtic remain top of the table, but O'Neill's players now face the task of responding to Sunday's defeat before questions about the title race grow louder.
