The Celtic banner just said it all as Rangers let standards slip during and after Viaplay Cup final

There might have been blue skies above. But it certainly did not look like being Rangers’ day from the moment Daizen Maeda mis-kicked in front of goal and then turned to see teammate Kyogo Furuhashi had swept Celtic into the lead.

The tireless Kyogo was the difference again at Hampden Park. The Japanese striker's equally opportunistic second goal of the afternoon 11 minutes into the second half proved he decisive counter as Celtic retained the League Cup while making a strong statement in the process.

This is a team who are firmly in the winning groove. They are led by a skipper who does not know how to lose a final at Hampden. This was Callum McGregor’s 15th such success out of 15, stretching back to Celtic youth days. Extraordinary.

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Substitute Sead Haksabanovic came close to tying things up at the end with one of the great Hampden solo goals but pushed his shot inches wide after drifting past Connor Goldson with too much ease. A 3-1 win for Celtic might have been a more accurate reflection on a game that seemed to be about a lot more than simply who takes the League Cup home with them.

Celtic's Kyogo Furuhashi celebrates scoring his second goal against Rangers at Hampden.Celtic's Kyogo Furuhashi celebrates scoring his second goal against Rangers at Hampden.
Celtic's Kyogo Furuhashi celebrates scoring his second goal against Rangers at Hampden.

Ange Postecoglou has arched an eyebrow at the plaudits afforded Rangers since Michael Beale's arrival. There’s little doubt the Ibrox side have been better than earlier in the season. They might even be well on the way to turning a corner under the new manager. Celtic, however, remain the top dogs in town.

One banner at the end said it all: “22 trophies in 11 years. We set the standard”. Talking of standards, which Beale was as recently as a fortnight ago after admirably letting Partick Thistle equalise after crossed wires contributed to Rangers scoring moments earlier, it was notable that the Ibrox players and staff all disappeared down the tunnel as soon as they had been presented with their loser medals.

No one expected them to stick around while Celtic passed the cup among themselves, but the usual etiquette is that the beaten team at least observe the presentation. It strengthened the impression that this was a backwards step for Rangers on an afternoon that fell somewhat short of expectations in terms of quality of game. Not that Celtic care a jot about this.

The news headlines on BBC Radio Scotland reported that Rangers were playing Celtic in the League Cup final for the first time since 2019, as if little over three years had been an eternity to wait (that final – a 1-0 win for Celtic – was played in December). Many will be praying it’s a lot longer until the next one.

Furuhashi was in splendid isolation when scoring his first goal.Furuhashi was in splendid isolation when scoring his first goal.
Furuhashi was in splendid isolation when scoring his first goal.

Although it got quite frantic at the end, and tempers threatened to boil over, this was not the spectacle promised. It was not as was advertised.

Beale had proposed that this was a final for the neutrals as well as fans of both sides, since it pitched the best teams in Scotland against one another.

That was one way of looking at it.

Fashion Sakala’s pre-match contention that Rangers are by far the better team already looked suspect and was duly exposed as being the wild take many Ibrox fans feared. Sakala endured a personally frustrating afternoon.

Alfredo Morelos scored against Celtic but it was a frustrating day for him and his team-mates.Alfredo Morelos scored against Celtic but it was a frustrating day for him and his team-mates.
Alfredo Morelos scored against Celtic but it was a frustrating day for him and his team-mates.
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Rangers belatedly made a game of it. The Celtic supporters had been reduced to entertaining themselves by firing bangers into the air with one landing a little too close for comfort to Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor. It appeared to rouse the Ibrox side although given they were already 2-0 down after Kyogo turned in Reo Hatate’s cross, it seemed a little too late – and so it proved.

Alfredo Morelos halved the deficit after 63 minutes when he slammed the ball in after Celtic had failed to clear the danger following James Tavernier’s free kick from the left. He was later replaced by Antonio Colak and aimed a kick at a hamper while making a disgruntled exit. His departure certainly did not seem to aid Rangers in their urgent quest for a goal.

Beale might prefer to view himself as a football aesthete but nevertheless, he will have relished how brutal it was at times. Celtic could not get going at first. The Ibrox manager is still trying to impose his style of play on the team and this, only his 15th competitive game in charge, was no place to start making any undue demands on them. Just stay in the game, he will have urged them.

They did that until conceding a ruinously ill-timed goal a minute before the interval after the excellent Greg Taylor’s cross and even then Rangers came close to equalising soon after the re-start. Ryan Kent shot across Joe Hart but found only the far post rather than the far corner of the net. Sakala bundled the rebound into the wrong side of the net.

It was a hugely significant moment since Kyogo scored a second soon afterwards after Mooy and Hatate unpicked the Rangers defence. It was a rare passage of cultured play.

The pitch, while clearly better than it was for the semi-finals, seemed almost too lush this time around. The ball kept getting stuck under players’ feet.

The underfoot conditions were still probably not the reason for Maeda running the ball out of play not once, but twice. He also kicked it out for good measure a couple of times.

The Celtic winger was not alone in this seeming inability to pull off the simplest tasks. Kent sent one shot towards the car park behind the Celtic fans at the east end of the ground.

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It started off so well too. Celtic declined the opportunity to boot the ball into Rangers’ half at kick-off. Rather, after Mooy played the ball back to McGregor, they worked the ball up the left. Such careful, tidy football was not able to survive the high stakes' circumstances, although Celtic, as they almost always seem to do, found a way to prevail.