Ryan Naderi’s decisive goal was enough to secure another victory for Rangers over Celtic, marking their second derby win in a single week following their League Cup triumph. Rangers demonstrated clear superiority on hostile terrain, though they did not quite reach the same ruthless levels they displayed a week prior at Ibrox.
Despite the significance of the result at Celtic Park, Rangers manager Derek McInnes showed little emotion at the final whistle. Instead of reacting with an outward display of relief or delight, he simply shook hands with a beleaguered Martin O’Neill and quickly departed the pitch.
Later, the first words McInnes uttered on the radio were a warning against going “overboard” after back-to-back derby wins against their city rivals. “Just three points,” he said. “Three points closer to Celtic.” His measured comments downplayed what was actually a historic milestone for the club.
With this victory, McInnes became the first Rangers manager to win his first two matches against Celtic since Graeme Souness accomplished the feat back in 1986. Remarkably, McInnes was only 15 years old when Souness set that previous coaching record. The report also notes that that’s true, of course, but it was also the first time a Rangers manager has won his first two games against Celtic since Graeme Souness in 1986. The report also notes that he shook hands with a now beleaguered Martin O’Neill and pretty much got out of there.
