Where do Rangers need to improve in next season's Old Firm?

Although the Dutchman got his revenge with an impressive extra-time victory over Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final, his league record against Ange Postecoglou left a lot to be desired, failing to win any of his three meetings with Celtic in the Scottish Premiership.

The Rangers Review analyses the lessons the Ibrox side must learn from last season’s Old Firm encounters.

Negating wide rotations

The 3-0 defeat at Celtic Park in February shaped the remainder of the league campaign for van Bronckhorst, with Rangers suffering their heaviest defeat against their bitter rivals since the 5-0 mauling in April 2018.

The blueprint Steven Gerrard had perfectly crafted to outmanoeuvre Celtic time and again en route to the Scottish Premiership title in 2020/21 had been ripped up, with van Bronckhorst’s more man-orientated approach without the ball playing into Celtic’s hands that evening in February.

The Rangers boss attributed the nature of the defeat to his side “not going with their men”, which at the time appeared the words of a manager at a loss to explain his side’s performance, but analysis shows how much sharper Celtic were in the individual duels across the pitch.

The example below underlines how Ange Postecoglou’s side were able to create two-vs-one situations around Rangers’ full-backs with their dynamic rotations on either flank.

Cameron Carter-Vickers threads a pass through to Matt O’Riley, who can lay the ball into Josip Juranovic first time.

Ryan Kent had been instructed to sit in front of Celtic’s inverted full-backs, but he’s quickly bypassed, allowing Juranovic to thread a pass through to Liel Abada, who has moved inside from the touchline, positioned on the shoulder of Borna Barisic.

The Israel international can then pull the ball across goal for a shooting opportunity.

The remaining three Old Firm fixtures of the season showed improvement from Rangers without the ball, which was most pronounced in the Scottish Cup semi-final victory in April.

Where some expected van Bronckhorst to become more reactive to avoid a repeat of February’s mauling, the Dutchman instead instructed his side to be braver in their man-to-man approach.

In doing so, they limited Celtic’s ability to set up camp in Rangers’ half of the pitch.

Postecoglou’s side have a throw-in inside the opposition half in the example below, yet when the ball is fed back to Juranovic, Kent is incessant in pressing the Croatian to force a pass back to the defence.

The ball is then played back to Joe Hart, who moves it onto Carl Starfelt.

Joe Aribo follows Callum McGregor in, while Aaron Ramsey tracks the movement of Greg Taylor.

The Swede is, again, forced back to Hart.

Van Bronckhorst was able to hone his side's aggressive approach over the course of the second half of last season.

There is now greater merit in his side's man-orientated defensive system, with it undoubtedly causing Celtic issues in the final two Old Firm clashes of the campaign.

Dealing with blindside far post runs

It was Groundhog Day for Barisic in the 1-1 draw at Celtic Park in May. Fingers were pointed in the direction of the Croatian after Jota snuck in front of him to put Celtic ahead, in an alarmingly similar fashion to Abada’s goal in the aforementioned 3-0 defeat.

READ MORE: The Rangers academy graduate appointed Airdrie manager at just 29 - Rhys McCabe interview

On both occasions, Barisic was on his heels, but it’s fair to contend that the fault lies with the collective rather than the individual for each goal.

Rangers fell victim to Celtic’s wide rotations once again in the lead up to Jota’s strike in May.

Fashion Sakala Jr. is slow to react to Callum McGregor’s run around his outside.

This pulls James Tavernier across to his right, opening up the direct passing lane into Daizen Maeda for Celtic.

Connor Goldson has held a central position to guard against the sharp movements of Kyogo in the penalty area, which presents Maeda with time to get the ball out of his feet and lash a cross across goal where Jota steals in at the far post.

Celtic are able to enter the penalty area all too easily from a defensive perspective.

Similarly, Abada’s strike in the 3-0 defeat stems from an innocuous throw-in.

Tavernier and Glen Kamara get in a mix-up as to which player should be tracking the run down the line from Reo Hatate, with both players ending up on the wrong side of the Hoops midfielder when the throw-in is taken.

In the end, both are slow to react, allowing the Japanese midfielder to fashion a crossing opportunity from the byline.

Again, Rangers offer meek resistance in preventing Celtic from entering the danger area.

Managing momentum swings

The Scottish Cup semi-final victory was significant for van Bronckhorst’s men as it displayed their powers of in-game recovery after a disappointing setback by going a goal down.

The previous two Old Firm clashes under the Dutchman had displayed a similar theme, with Rangers allowing the game to run away from their grasp after suffering disappointment.

The Gers conceded inside the opening ten minutes in the 3-0 defeat at Celtic Park via a deflected Hatate effort, yet they barely offered any defensive resistance and they were staring at a half-time deficit which evoked dispiriting memories of the pre-Gerrard era.

In contrast, it was van Bronckhorst’s side who opened the scoring just minutes into the Old Firm clash at Ibrox in April. However, Rangers conceded a leveller just four minutes later with Celtic’s first chance of the game.

The xG race chart from the defeat shows how the Gers failed to regain their composure after Tom Rogic’s equaliser, before they fell behind before the interval.

Even the 1-1 draw with the Hoops in the final league clash of the season – where Rangers won the xG battle over Postecoglou’s side – told a familiar story.

READ MORE: Rangers transfer scouting: The powerful Canadian centre-back who could be the next Calvin Bassey

After Kent spurned a great chance for the Gers to go ahead, Celtic opened the scoring against the run of play before having opportunities of their own to double their advantage before the interval.

Postecoglou has spoken previously of opponents being at their weakest immediately after scoring or conceding a goal, and Celtic clearly smell an opportunity to kill the game against Rangers in the immediate period following a goal.

Van Bronckhorst will be keen to emphasise that to his players, especially in their trips to Celtic Park next season.

A greater clinical edge

An inch inside of the post and Rangers could have made it a very interesting end to the Scottish Premiership campaign. That was the margins which decided Sakala’s one-on-one opportunity in the dying embers of the draw at Celtic Park in May.

Coupled with Scott Arfield’s golden chance in the second half, there was a prevailing sense of a missed opportunity for the Ibrox side.

Indeed, discovering a ruthless streak will be key for Rangers next season against a Celtic side who finished with twelve more than van Bronckhorst’s men in the goals scored column last season.

The 2-1 derby defeat at Ibrox summarised the problem for the Gers.

Rangers continuously won the ball high up the pitch, but converting their territorial gain into the currency of chances proved elusive.

As Ramsey steals in to retrieve a loose pass from Greg Taylor, his side are able to transition forward.

However, Celtic recover quicker than the Gers are able to get bodies forward, with Kent and Kemar Roofe tightly tracked.

In the end, the Welshman can only deliver a cross straight into the arms of Hart.

Rangers’ shot map from that afternoon was indicative of their inability to translate momentum into tangible chance creation. The cluster of attempts from the edge of the penalty area and outside shows the side were unable to successful penetrate Celtic’s defensive line.

The absence of Alfredo Morelos towards the end of the season was doubtless a huge below, but van Bronckhorst's summer recruitment will be key in adding more conviction in the final third for Rangers.