RANGERS went into Saturday’s Old Firm knowing that defeat was not an option if they wanted to keep their title hopes alive going into the new year. The top of the table clash represented Steven Gerrard’s biggest test as Rangers manager yet and judging by the evidence at Ibrox, the 38-year-old passed with flying colours. With a tired squad and a number of important players ruled out through injury, Gerrard had to get his tactics right if his side were to finally get one over Celtic and inflict Brendan Rodgers’ first derby defeat as Celtic boss.

The opening five minutes were fairly quiet, with the Rangers midfield pressing Celtic hard whenever they ventured into the Rangers half. For the opening exchanges, Gerrard had instructed his players to allow Dedryck Boyata and Filip Benkovic time on the ball, instead focussing on man-marking the other Celtic players in an attempt to deny them any space to drive into.

The majority of Rangers’ early attacks were primarily down the right side of the pitch, testing Callum McGregor as he deputised at left back in Kieran Tierney’s absence. The 25-year-old largely held his own as James Tavernier and Daniel Candeias took turns at running at him, with some degree of success, although it was clear that McGregor would not be easily overran.

As time marched on, Rangers grew more aggressive and gave their Celtic counterparts less and less time on the ball. Gerrard’s midfield trio of Ross McCrorie, Ryan Jack and Scott Arfield particularly caught the eye in this regard, harrying the Celtic midfield whenever they were in possession and forcing them into errors. Celtic insisted on attempting to exploit the middle of the park when attacking - repeatedly - to no avail.

Rodgers’ side struggled to get the ball out of their own half during the first half hour, with Morelos looking especially dangerous as an out ball as he drifted to the right of the Rangers attack. The Colombian’s role was simple; win the ball, drive at goal and keep an eye open for any marauding supporting runs from Ryan Kent, Arfield or Candeias.

The Celtic defence appeared especially uncomfortable dealing with crosses into their own box. Rangers came close to opening the scoring on four such occasions as ball after ball was swung into the box; be it from open play, a free kick or a corner. Each delivery seemed to find its man and neither Boyata nor Benkovic looked capable of accepting responsibility to snuff out any opportunities. Andy Halliday and Tavernier took turns delivering set pieces and both looked capable of providing an opening for the Ibrox club.

Celtic looked a little timid in possession and on the rare occasions they burst forward, they took few risks. Passes were played to the feet of the intended recipient, with few players attempting through balls or running directly at their opposite number. Then, around the half hour mark, Jack made the breakthrough that his side’s performance deserved.

Ryan Kent looked lively down the left and was the catalyst for the Rangers goal, driving down the wing. Initially, Mikael Lustig refused to commit, giving the young Englishman plenty of space to run into. By the time Kent reached the Celtic box and Lustig changed his mind, it was already too late. The 22-year-old danced around the Swedish full back, teeing up Jack for a simple finish.

Things went from bad to worse for the visitors shortly before half time when Rodgers suffered two significant blows. Firstly, Benkovic had to be subbed off for Kristoffer Ajer after sustaining an injury then, on the stroke of half time, Lustig was booked for a rash tackle.

When the second half kicked off, Lustig was unsurprisingly hooked for Anthony Ralston. This was a no-brainer for Rodgers; Lustig wasn’t playing particularly well anyway, and he couldn’t risk allowing Kent to drive at a full back on a booking for 45 minutes. Rodgers’ hand was somewhat forced with these two changes, but neither were able to make a significant contribution to turn the match in the visitors’ favour.

Ralston appeared vulnerable and Kent relished the opportunity of driving at him, trying to force the full back into a mistake or slip in behind him when the opportunity arose. On more than one occasion in the second period Rangers found joy going down the right and in truth could have doubled their advantage doing so.

Rangers kept up their aggressive approach to the game, showing little signs of tiring. Around the hour mark Rodgers made his final substitution in an attempt to change the game, bringing on Odsonne Edouard for Mikey Johnston. The Celtic youth product struggled to make much of an impact on proceedings and with Edouard on, the Celtic midfield at least had a strong, physical forward working as the focal point at the tip of the Celtic attack.

The game opened up as the half wore on, with Celtic starting to find little pockets of space in the final third, but still clear-cut chances were hard to come by for Rodgers’ men. Callum McGregor had a goal ruled out for offside but the home side did an excellent job of smothering the ball whenever it looked like Celtic were on the brink of playing an incisive pass.

At the other end, Morelos and Arfield’s link-up play was highly impressive as the two players found each other in the box time after time. Both were guilty of spending a fraction too long on the ball when it arrived at their feet and had they been slightly faster, the scoreline could have been even more convincing for Gerarrd’s side.

With 20 minutes remaining, Gerrard took the bold step of replacing Candeias with Lassana Coulibaly and installing a change in approach for the remainder of the game. The home side stopped pressing the Celtic defence, focussing instead on playing in a narrow, compact 4-5-1 with Kent and Arfield moving further back. The resulting effect gave Celtic little to aim for as the Rangers players man-marked their opponents, leaving virtually no room for the Celtic attack to exploit.

As the clock wound down, Celtic struggled to create meaningful opportunities, much to the delight of the home fans. The away side enjoyed more time on the ball than they had previously, but increasingly found themselves with nowhere to go. The referee soon called time on an entertaining game, and Gerrard had sealed his most important victory yet as Rangers manager.