Rangers Player Ratings vs Celtic: Dan Neil Purrs as Rangers Storm Into Premier Sports Cup Semi-Finals
Derek McInnes finally has his first Old Firm victory as Rangers manager, and it arrived in about as convincing a fashion as anyone inside Ibrox could have hoped for. A 3-0 demolition of Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final sent Rangers marching into the last four of the competition, extended their winning run to five matches across all competitions, and produced a man-of-the-match display from captain Dan Neil that will live long in the memory of the home support. Here is how every Rangers player who featured rated on a landmark afternoon in Govan.
A Tactical Surprise That Paid Off Immediately
Before assessing individual performances, it is worth dwelling on the tactical decision that shaped the entire contest. McInnes sprang something of a surprise on Celtic by switching to a back three for the occasion, pushing usual left-back James Penrice further forward into a more advanced midfield role. It was a bold call given the magnitude of the fixture, but one that paid off almost immediately, catching O’Neill’s side cold and giving Rangers control of central areas that Celtic never really wrestled back throughout the ninety minutes. Penrice in particular thrived in his unfamiliar role, involved in the build-up to both of Rangers’ first-half and second-half breakthroughs and giving Rangers an extra body in midfield that overloaded Celtic’s own three-man engine room of Callum McGregor, Mika Baur and Benjamin Nygren.
The change of shape also explains why Rangers looked so comfortable defensively for long periods, with an extra covering body at the back allowing Emmanuel Fernandez and his fellow centre-backs to squeeze higher up the pitch without leaving obvious gaps in behind. It was, by full-time, a near-perfect illustration of a manager getting his tactical set-up spot on for the biggest fixture of his tenure so far — and it will only add to the growing sense among Rangers supporters that McInnes’s methodical, defensively disciplined approach is beginning to bear fruit at exactly the right time.
Rangers Player Ratings
Ivor Pandur — 7/10 As comfortable an afternoon as any goalkeeper could hope for in an Old Firm derby. Barely had a save of note to make throughout the ninety minutes, with Rangers’ defensive shape and Celtic’s toothless attacking display combining to give the Croatian a remarkably quiet watch. The clean sheet extends his own personal run to three in a row since arriving from Hull City, continuing an impressive start to life at Ibrox after an early wobble following his summer move.
Dujon Sterling — 8/10 Continuing to look every bit the long-term answer at right-back that Rangers had hoped for when handed an extended run in the position. Dealt comfortably with the early threat posed by Sebastian Tounekti and later Camilo Duran down that side of the pitch, rarely giving Celtic’s attackers a sniff of the kind of space they needed to trouble Rangers in behind. A genuinely impressive derby debut in the role.
Emmanuel Fernandez — 8/10 A commanding display from the Argentine, even if there was an element of fortune involved when a misplaced pass in the first half nearly gifted Celtic a clear sight of goal. Beyond that one moment of uncharacteristic slackness, Fernandez was excellent throughout, winning the vast majority of his individual duels and producing a crucial goal-line clearance deep into stoppage time to ensure the clean sheet remained intact right to the final whistle.
Ryan Naderi — 7/10 Often an underappreciated figure among the Rangers support given he is rarely among the goals or assists himself, but his link-up play was central to everything positive Rangers did in the opening exchanges, including a pivotal role in the build-up to Neil’s opening goal. There was a concerning moment when he appeared to be struggling physically, and McInnes eventually withdrew him after 73 minutes as a precaution, meaning his afternoon ended in some discomfort despite the fine performance that preceded it.
James Penrice — 8/10 Arguably the most eye-catching tactical success story of the entire afternoon. Deployed further forward than usual as part of McInnes’s back-three switch, Penrice was involved in the build-up to both of Neil’s goals and provided the cross that ultimately fell for Kelsy to double Rangers’ lead early in the second half. A player who has often had to fight for his place among Rangers’ options at left-back produced arguably his finest performance in a Rangers shirt in an unfamiliar role, on the biggest occasion of the season so far.
Dan Neil — 9/10 (Man of the Match) A genuinely sensational Old Firm derby debut for the summer signing from Sunderland, and one that fully justified McInnes’s decision to hand him the captain’s armband so soon after his arrival. Neil’s opening goal, stroked confidently past Sam Johnstone from the edge of the box, was a study in composure under pressure, while his second — an unstoppable effort that flew high beyond the Celtic goalkeeper in the 75th minute — was simply a moment of individual quality that few players in Scottish football could have produced. Beyond the goals themselves, Neil was a constant, driving presence in central midfield throughout, never allowing Celtic’s own midfielders time or space to dictate the tempo of the contest. A truly complete captain’s performance, and one that will have banished any lingering questions about his suitability to lead the side so early into his Ibrox career.
Kevin Kelsy — 7/10 An afternoon of two very different halves for Rangers’ record signing. Kelsy squandered a golden opportunity inside the opening five minutes when Johnstone’s poor clearance fell straight into his path, dragging his effort wide when he really ought to have hit the target, and a second presentable chance went begging shortly afterwards. Those early misses will have done nothing to ease the growing scrutiny of his slow start in Scottish football following his big-money move from Portland Timbers. But Kelsy responded superbly, showing real composure to tee up Neil for the opening goal with a clever pass, before getting his own name on the scoresheet with a stunning first-time finish shortly after the interval to double Rangers’ advantage. He was given a huge ovation by the Ibrox crowd when withdrawn late on for Bojan Miovski, a fitting reward for a player who may finally have turned a corner in front of the fans who will ultimately decide how his Rangers career is remembered.
Nicolas Raskin — 7/10 Retained in the Rangers midfield despite reported interest from Besiktas over the summer that ultimately collapsed, and produced a display that reminded supporters exactly why the club were so determined to keep hold of him. Had what looked to be a well-taken headed third goal chalked off for offside just minutes after Kelsy’s strike, a marginal call that could easily have gone the other way and given Rangers an even more emphatic scoreline. Continued to press and harry Celtic’s midfield throughout, adding to the sense of total home dominance.
Findlay Curtis — 6/10 A steady if unspectacular contribution on the flank, doing enough defensive work to ensure Celtic’s wide players were kept largely quiet without offering a huge amount going the other way. Part of a Rangers midfield and attacking unit that collectively suffocated Celtic’s ability to build any sustained pressure.
Djeidi Gassama — 6/10 Continues to pose problems for opposition right-backs with his direct running down the left, though his end product remains a work in progress. Booked Celtic’s Colby Donovan for a foul stemming from his pace in behind, a small but telling sign of the physical toll his direct style exerts on opponents even when the end product does not always follow.
Badredine Bouanani — 3/10 A difficult second appearance for the Stuttgart loanee, who struggled to make any meaningful impact after replacing Naderi in the closing stages. It is worth stressing this was still only his second appearance for the club following his deadline-day arrival, and expecting an immediate influence in a fixture of this magnitude, coming off the bench with the game already effectively won, was always likely to be a stretch. Time and further minutes should tell a fuller story of what he can offer.
Ben Godfrey — 6/10 Introduced with roughly fifteen minutes remaining to add defensive depth and see out the closing stages of the contest, doing his job efficiently without being unduly tested given Rangers’ complete control of the game by that point.
Bojan Miovski — 6/10 Handed the closing few minutes as a replacement for the departing Kelsy, receiving warm applause from the home support both for his own recent form and in recognition of the striker he was replacing. Did not have enough time on the pitch to significantly influence proceedings, though his mere introduction as a like-for-like swap underlined the increasing strength in depth McInnes now has available in attacking areas.
Vanja Dragojevic — N/A A late substitute appearance for the outstanding Neil as Rangers management used the closing stages to protect their captain and manage minutes with the game already settled beyond doubt.
The Bigger Story Behind the Scoreline
Individual ratings only tell part of the story of an afternoon that represented a genuine watershed moment for McInnes’s young Ibrox reign. Rangers arrived at the fixture on the back of four consecutive Premiership victories, but few outside Govan expected the champions-elect tag still attached to Celtic following their perfect domestic start to be so comprehensively dismantled. What made the performance particularly striking was the sense of total control Rangers exerted for almost the entire ninety minutes — this was not a scrappy, fortunate victory built on individual moments of quality alone, but a genuinely dominant tactical and physical performance that left O’Neill’s players looking, in the words of more than one matchday report, dazed and unable to get to grips with their opponents at any stage of the contest.
The absence of Celtic’s travelling support, a consequence of the ongoing away-fan ban stemming from the disorder that marred the corresponding fixture back in March, undeniably shaped the atmosphere inside Ibrox, with a raucous full house roaring Rangers on throughout in the complete absence of any audible resistance from the away end. Whether that contributed materially to Celtic’s flat performance is impossible to say with certainty, but there is little doubt that the one-sided nature of the noise inside the stadium played its part in the sense of total home dominance that characterised the afternoon from very early on.
Neil’s Rapid Rise to Ibrox Hero Status
It is worth pausing on just how quickly Dan Neil has established himself as a central figure at Ibrox, given the scale of what he produced on Sunday. Signed from Sunderland over the summer as part of Rangers’ extensive rebuild under new ownership, Neil arrived in Scotland with a reputation built on his performances in the English Championship, where he had established himself as a reliable, technically gifted central midfielder capable of dictating tempo from deep as well as contributing goals from distance. What he could not have anticipated was being entrusted with the captain’s armband so early into his time at the club, a decision that raised eyebrows in some quarters given the presence of more established figures within the Rangers dressing room.
Sunday’s performance will have ended any debate on that particular decision in emphatic fashion. Both of his goals showcased different facets of his game — the first a study in composure and technique, picking his spot from the edge of the box with Celtic’s defence backed off and unable to close the space quickly enough; the second a moment of pure quality, an unstoppable strike that gave Sam Johnstone no chance whatsoever. Beyond the two finishes, it was Neil’s overall influence on the tempo and shape of the match that will have most pleased McInnes, with the midfielder rarely allowing Celtic’s own central options a moment’s peace throughout the ninety minutes. For a player only a matter of months into life in Scottish football, producing a captain’s masterclass of this magnitude in his first Old Firm derby represents about as significant a statement as any new signing could hope to make.
Kelsy’s Slow-Burning Justification
If Neil’s afternoon was one of total, uninterrupted excellence, Kevin Kelsy’s was a more complicated story — but ultimately no less significant in what it might mean for Rangers’ season going forward. The Venezuelan striker’s start to life in Scotland had been a source of increasing scrutiny in the weeks leading up to Sunday’s derby, with reports suggesting he was still finding his feet following his deadline-day move from Portland Timbers in what was, by some distance, one of the biggest fees ever paid by Rangers for an incoming player. His early misses on Sunday — first when Johnstone’s error handed him a golden opportunity inside the opening five minutes, then again shortly afterwards — will have done little to quiet those doubts in the moment, and it would have been easy for a player under that level of scrutiny to visibly wilt as the frustration mounted.
Instead, Kelsy responded in precisely the manner Rangers’ hierarchy will have hoped for when they committed such significant resources to his signature. His assist for Neil’s opener showed a level of composure and technical awareness that had not always been evident in his earlier performances, while his own goal — a confident, first-time finish struck with real conviction — was exactly the kind of moment a big-money forward needs to settle both his own nerves and any lingering concerns among the watching support. The standing ovation he received upon being substituted late on spoke volumes about how thoroughly he won over a crowd that, only an hour earlier, had been growing restless at his early profligacy in front of goal.
The Tactical Masterclass Behind the Scenes
McInnes’s decision to restructure his side specifically for this fixture deserves further scrutiny given how comprehensively it worked. Shifting to a back three and pushing Penrice into a more advanced role effectively gave Rangers an extra body in the areas of the pitch where Old Firm derbies are traditionally won and lost — the tightly congested central zones where composure and physical presence often matter more than out-and-out pace or trickery. By matching, and at times outnumbering, Celtic’s own midfield configuration, Rangers were able to dictate the tempo of the contest almost from the opening whistle, denying O’Neill’s side the platform they needed to build any sustained period of pressure.
That tactical tweak also had a secondary benefit that became increasingly apparent as the second half wore on: it allowed Rangers to gradually shift their emphasis toward wing play once the game had been effectively settled by Kelsy’s second-half strike, using the extra width afforded by their revised shape to control possession and run down the clock without ever appearing remotely under threat of a Celtic comeback. It was, in short, as complete a piece of game management from a Scottish football manager as this fixture has produced in recent memory, and it will have done considerable damage to any lingering doubts about McInnes’s tactical acumen following his side’s difficult start to the season.
A Response to the Doubters
It would be remiss not to acknowledge the broader context in which this victory arrived. McInnes’s appointment in the summer had been greeted with a mixture of curiosity and scepticism in some quarters, and that scepticism only intensified after Rangers collected just a single point from their opening two Premiership fixtures and suffered early elimination from both Europa League and Conference League qualifying. Reports at the time suggested some influential voices within Scottish football were openly questioning whether McInnes was the right man to lead a Rangers rebuild of this scale, with his methodical, defence-first approach viewed by some critics as unsuited to the demands of a club expected to play with more attacking flair and ambition.
Sunday’s result, and in particular the manner of it, represents about as emphatic a rebuttal to those critics as McInnes could have hoped to produce. A performance built on defensive solidity, tactical discipline and clinical finishing at the other end — precisely the qualities McInnes has always been associated with throughout his managerial career — dismantled a Celtic side that had, until Sunday, appeared to be cruising serenely toward another dominant domestic campaign. For a manager whose methods had been under such scrutiny only a matter of weeks earlier, there could hardly have been a more perfectly timed or more emphatically delivered response.
What Comes Next for Rangers
Progression to the Premier Sports Cup semi-finals sets up a mouth-watering last-four tie against Aberdeen at Hampden Park at the end of October, a fixture that will carry particular significance for McInnes given his lengthy and largely successful spell in charge at Pittodrie before eventually moving on. Before that, though, Rangers’ focus will quickly turn to domestic business, with the two Glasgow rivals due to meet again in the Scottish Premiership at Celtic Park the following Sunday — again played out in front of no away support under the same league-wide arrangement that emptied Ibrox of Celtic fans this weekend.
Given the manner of Sunday’s victory, McInnes will travel to Celtic Park with genuine confidence that his side can complete a rare and psychologically significant Old Firm double inside the space of a single week. For a manager whose Ibrox tenure began amid considerable early scrutiny following a difficult start to the season, few results could have offered a more emphatic response to his doubters than a performance as complete, controlled and ultimately dominant as the one produced against Celtic on Sunday afternoon.
