Celtic 1-0 Rangers: Philippe Clement’s side head for rebuild with regrets

The derbies this term have been a tale of woe for the blue half of Glasgow, and in similar fashion too, until the Hampden showpiece.

Concede the first and – on three occasions – second goal and then fight back, only to fall short anyway.

Those games were won and lost in midfield, where Callum McGregor, Matt O’Riley, and Reo Hatate controlled the game for Celtic.

It was such a feature of these games that Clement, having brilliantly picked up the pieces from Michael Beale’s sacking, was being questioned.

At Hampden he got it right. John Lundstram, back from suspension after his red in the decisive league derby, was left on the bench for the first time.

Mohamed Diomande played alongside Nicolas Raskin and midfield, with Todd Cantwell in front.

Rather than going man-for-man across the pitch, they blocked the passes through to O’Riley and the rest.

It worked. Until it didn’t.

“That we didn’t score and Celtic scored, I think that was the only difference,” Clement told BBC Scotland.

“My players played a brave game, they played a good tactical game, with and without the ball. Much improved from the last Old Firms.

“We had three times more shots on target than Celtic today. It’s about decision-making and quality also, to finish off the actions. We’re going to work hard on that.”