RANGERS will have been delighted to take home all three points after a hard-fought victory over Celtic.
After the game, the discussion centred on chances missed by the visitors with some high profile pundit suggesting Rangers were lucky
We have taken a deep dive into the match data from the game to shed some light where there is a predictable amount of post-match heat.
As you can see from the race chart Celtic outperformed Rangers on xG for the game. Both teams had a number of low-value shots but one chance by Odsonne Edouard in the first half was undoubtedly a key moment. The French striker mishit the ball with the goal gaping after a delicious cross from Kyogo Furuhashi.
The number crunchers suggest Edouard would score from that position 57 per cent of the time, further cementing the notion of a great chance lost. Take this moment away and the performances are almost identical but the high chance of this moment leading to a goal, and the low value of Filip Helander's header means that Celtic would have been expected to win nearly half of the time.
Celtic threatened the goal less readily throughout the 90 minutes with only 10 shots but you can see from the colours in the graphic (the warmer the colour, the better the chance) that both Edouard's miss and a late chance for Kyogo saved by Robby McCrorie were the best chances of the game.
Rangers had 15 shots in total but nine of them were from outside the box. This is unusual in modern football as coaches are now clued into the metrics that suggest long-range strikes have a low success rate. The fact the Ibrox men were prepared to have a dig speaks to the decent game had by Celtic's much-maligned backline who coped better than expected with Rangers' attacking threats.
One of Steven Gerrard's side's clear strategies is to force teams down the sides of their compact block. They look to use their front three to force the game away from dangerous ball-playing midfielders, ceding possession to full-backs.
You can see from the graphic that Anthony Ralston and Josip Juranovic ended up being the two players that saw the most of the ball, something Gary McAllister will have been delighted with. The blue colour (the colder the colour, the less threatening the player) of Callum McGregor shows how little he was allowed to create and how effectively Rangers' front three dropped in to shadow and pressurise his movements.
Many people noticed Rangers seemed much more aggressive in the second half and you can see from the average positions they moved their fullbacks much higher up the pitch with the central midfielders much closer to them.
The Govan side were clearly aware how much danger comes from Celtic's left side and concentrated efforts on blocking that off with bodies.
This point is further illustrated by the pressure heat map that shows the intensity of pressing that went on down that side.
Watching from afar, Steven Gerrard will have been delighted with his side's tactical diligence, a trait that was a major contributor to them winning the game.
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