Celtic have been all-but crowned Scottish Premiership Champions following a 2-1 win in the final Old Firm league outing of the season.

The last big win Rangers enjoyed in this fixture came over two years ago and again, that fact was evident. Celtic’s two quickfire first-half goals, before Cyriel Dessers’ response, established a lead that would never be overturned. John Lundstram's red card before the interval killed Philippe Clement and his side's chances.

Here are the big talking points dissected by the Rangers Review.

A familiar story in this fixture

For Rangers supporters watching on at home, this was a familiar experience. Albeit they survived an early Celtic onslaught without conceding, the concession of a second goal right after the first made that count for little. As seen so often in the Old Firm since 2021 the Ibrox side’s lack of intensity came in sharp contrast to Celtic’s. Dessers’ header offered hope but Rangers’ inability to respond well at 1-0 made this game a constant uphill battle. Rangers haven’t won a meaningful Old Firm game in the league since Fil Helander won a meeting at Ibrox in September 2021. They haven’t taken the lead in a meaningful league meeting since Aaron Ramsey under Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Those stats will only change when key areas of this squad do. Even with 10 men in the second half the visitors had chances with Jack Butland keeping them steady at the back - but no incision would follow. 

Celtic win again in midfield

Clement stuck to his guns with the trio of John Lundstram, Tom Lawrence and Mo Diomande in the middle and paid the price for not including the legs of Dujon Sterling in the centre. Rangers’ plan to trap Liam Scales on the ball was too easily bypassed by the hosts through third-man combinations to break the press and start quick attacks. Ultimately that’s how the first goal originated. It was too easy for Callum McGregor to run off of Lawrence and too easy for O’Reilly to strike from range, running beyond Borna Barisic. Pre-match it looked as though Celtic would not only have superior quality but superior legs in the middle and so it came to pass. In hindsight to not have one of Sterling or Raskin in the middle feels like an error that should’ve been foreseen. Especially given Raskin's far superior impact in midfield when compared to Lundstram in the second half.

A nightmare for John Lundstram... and the second half

Lundstram, who will depart Ibrox this summer, has rarely been a dominant midfield figure for Rangers in this fixture. This was the worst way possible to bow out in the Old Firm. The midfielder has always lacked the technical ability to play out under the Celtic press but today let himself down badly in areas he could control. Following a comical own goal, the midfielder lunged into a challenge with Alasdair Johnson that, following a VAR check, was upgraded from a yellow card to a red. It was a challenge made in frustration that proved so costly. Routinely Rangers have been stronger in one area of these meetings recently, the final stages. Lundstram took that advantage away from his team with an unjustifiably moment of madness. Clement's side still had opportunities a man down in the final stages, Celtic still showed vulnerability late on with a man advantage. This was another case of what if, and where could Rangers have been without errors in their own ranks. Much like the meeting between these two sides in December. 

Clement’s selection must be questioned

This was a day when the reality of Rangers’ unbalanced squad came into full focus. The Ibrox club have, since March, paid the price for a summer rebuild built in a different manager's image. Injuries to the likes of Oscar Cortes, Danilo and Abdallah Sima have compounded issues and yet, the absence of a player like Nico Raskin in Clement's plans over time feels hard to justify. The visitors had only remained in the game by the time Ridvan Yilmaz and Raskin came onto the pitch due to Jack Butland’s heroics, saving from the penalty spot and keeping out other long-range efforts. The Belgian manager has been so limited in his choices while also, in recent months, failing to help himself with other decisions. Raskin should’ve been back in the midfield picture quicker. The improvement he brings was a lesson learned last season that a lack of footballing continuity within the club has failed to heed.