“AND to be honest, you look at Celtic and they looked leggy. Even though they didn’t have a game on Thursday. I think they were getting tired and we could see that as well.”
The Rangers supporters and players clocked onto the same thing in extra time at Hampden Park yesterday as revealed by Connor Goldson above, Celtic were tiring at a quicker rate.
This wasn’t in keeping with the narrative pushed in the days leading up to yesterday’s semi-final. Having gone the distance against Braga in completing a taxing 120 minutes, Rangers were the team who would supposedly fizzle out of proceedings.
Given the only change Giovanni van Bronckhrost made was in goals, that theory seemed to be strengthened pre-match. Surely players who were entering their fourth hour of football in under four days wouldn’t be able to retain pressure from the front.
But the Rangers Review can reveal that in fact, it was Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic team who struggled to apply pressure deep into the game.
This is displayed in the below PPDA table. PPDA is the number of passes made by an attacking team divided by the defensive team’s defensive actions.
Wyscout uses the following example: “In the Liverpool-Manchester United match of 20 October 2019, Manchester United had 207 passes, while Liverpool had 10 won defensive duels, 16 interceptions, 11 fouls and 3 sliding tackles in this area. 207 / (10 + 16 + 11 + 3) = 5.2. This is the value of PPDA for Liverpool.”
READ MORE: Rangers' in-game Celtic recovery shows this team have turned a corner with character
In the table below, we can see Celtic’s PPDA of 13.1 is almost double Rangers’ 6.1. Furthermore, Celtic’s pressure dipped considerably from the time they scored their goal until late in the game when chasing an equaliser.
Remarkably, Rangers recorded their second-highest PPDA average of the whole match in the final 15 minutes of the 90.
Throughout the entire game, Rangers pressed with greater intensity. Helped by van Bronckhorst’s tactical plan and Jon McLaughlin’s composure on the ball to help play through the press.
"My legs didn’t feel great this morning. But it’s an Old Firm and once you get into it your legs take care of themselves,” Goldson added.
“We said at half-time fatigue is mental, your body can always take you where you want to go."
His side went the distance with a physical performance that defied expectations, even outlasting their opponents despite Celtic’s free midweek.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here