OPINION
At first glance, Celtic’s 1-0 win over Rangers last weekend looks like it was a tight encounter.
However, those who watched the clash will know that this was a 90 minutes which served to reestablish the Hoops’ dominance over their rivals, who have been making a lot of noise at the start of the season.
If it weren’t for an inspired performance from goalkeeper Allan McGregor and the woodwork, this could have been a far more comprehensive victory on paper for Celtic.
No one is complaining about the tight scoreline though, especially as the win came after a period of huge off-field issues for Celtic and manager Brendan Rodgers.
Left-back Kieran Tierney has now readily admitted that the game came in the wake of a tough few days for the club following the departure of striker Moussa Dembele and issues surrounding centre-back Dedryck Boyata.
Speaking to Celtic View, Tierney said: “Every time we beat them it feels sweet. A lot of off the field stuff was going on in the lead-up to this, but I felt we answered a lot of critics in this game with our performance. If it wasn’t for their goalkeeper, it could have been a lot more than 1-0.”
Tierney has honestly admitted here that the off-field issues involving Dembele, and to a lesser extent Boyata, did affect the squad before the game.
The fact that the Hoops then put in such a dominant performance against their bitter rivals, who were in brilliant form coming in and were unbeaten this season, merely serves to illustrate the massive edge that Celtic still have on Rangers.
While it is early days in Steven Gerrard’s reign at Ibrox, this match really will have hammered home the reality of the gap that still exists between the two sides.
As Tierney said, Celtic answered a lot of critics with this win, and people will not be so quick to write them off again in the future after such an impressive recovery from those off-field problems.