Key Points
- Rangers secured their second Old Firm derby victory in the space of a week, defeating Celtic 1-0 away at Celtic Park following a previous 3-0 win at Ibrox in the Premier Sports Cup.
- Derek McInnes became the first Rangers manager to win his first two matches in charge against Celtic since Graeme Souness achieved the feat in 1986.
- Scottish reporter Paul Mitchell revealed on talkSPORT that across 180 minutes of football over both fixtures, Celtic managed only two total shots on target against Rangers.
- Gabriel Agbonlahor reacted with astonishment live on-air to the statistical dominance highlighted by Mitchell, describing the numbers as “crazy”.
- Rangers registered superior underlying metrics, creating 1.23 expected goals (xG) away from home compared to Celtic’s 0.71, while winning 54 per cent of aerial duels.
- Manager Derek McInnes emphasized the need for greater clinical execution in front of goal, particularly with key forwards Lawrence Shankland and Youssef Chermiti sidelined with long-term injuries.
Rangers (Glasgow Express) September 21, 2026 — Rangers have successfully revitalized their campaign under the guidance of manager Derek McInnes, stringing together an impressive sequence of results that culminated in a hard-fought 1-0 victory over arch-rivals Celtic at Celtic Park. The triumph marked the second consecutive Old Firm success for the Light Blues within eight days, following a comprehensive 3-0 win at Ibrox in the Premier Sports Cup.
How did Gabriel Agbonlahor react to the striking statistics?
The scale of Rangers’ defensive solidity and tactical supremacy quickly drew widespread acclaim across sports media platforms. While speaking on talkSPORT, Scottish reporter Paul Mitchell detailed the stark imbalances in attacking output across the consecutive derby fixtures.
As reported by Paul Mitchell of talkSPORT, the analyst detailed:
“If you look at the stats, last week when Rangers won 3-0, they had eight shots on target; Celtic had one shot on target. This week, Rangers won 1-0; again, Rangers outshot Celtic on target eight to one.”
Expressing profound astonishment at the figures, Gabriel Agbonlahor replied: “Crazy.”
Elaborating further on the magnitude of the disparity, Paul Mitchell stated:
“If you told me that Celtic over 180 minutes that Celtic were going to get two shots on target against Rangers, that’s incredible. Normally against Rangers, they’d get two shots on target in the first 15 minutes of a game.”
What underlying metrics defined the latest Old Firm encounter?
Beyond the shot counts on target, the statistical profile of Sunday’s match heavily favored the visitors. Rangers accumulated 1.23 expected goals (xG) away from home, outperforming Celtic’s total of 0.71. Furthermore, Derek McInnes’ side demonstrated tremendous physical discipline, successfully defending without the ball for extended spells and winning 54 per cent of all aerial duels to nullify the home side’s threat.
The decisive moment arrived in the 33rd minute when striker Ryan Naderi found the back of the net, capitalizing on defensive hesitation to secure the sole goal of the encounter. The win brings Rangers within two points of Celtic at the summit of the Scottish Premiership table, dramatically altering the momentum in the domestic title race.
Why does Derek McInnes demand more from his squad despite the victory?
Despite securing consecutive clean sheets and victories against their fiercest rivals, manager Derek McInnes maintained a pragmatic stance regarding his team’s long-term prospects. With key attacking personnel such as Lawrence Shankland and Youssef Chermiti sidelined due to significant injuries, the Ibrox side remains vulnerable to inefficiency in the final third.
Reflecting on the slim margin of victory, Derek McInnes stated, as quoted by The Herald:
“Thankfully one was enough today. We’ve said to the players some days it won’t be, and we need to be far more clinical. In the context of the season, it’s just three points, and it gets us three closer to Celtic, so we understood [that] if we lost the game, the gap starts to put that distance a bit uncomfortable for us.”
Background
The recent resurgence under Derek McInnes follows a turbulent period of transition for Rangers at the start of the domestic campaign. Questions regarding tactical identity and squad depth had placed immense scrutiny on the Ibrox dugout. Conversely, Celtic entered the derby fixtures under pressure following uncharacteristic domestic slip-ups, intensifying the spotlight on veteran manager Martin O’Neill. The back-to-back victories represent a watershed moment for Rangers, halting a prolonged period of Celtic dominance in direct head-to-head encounters and compressing the upper tier of the Scottish Premiership standings.
Prediction
This sudden shift in momentum could profoundly influence the psychological landscape of the Scottish Premiership title race for the club and its supporters. By bridging the gap at the top of the table to a mere two points, Rangers have effectively dismantled the narrative of an unchallenged Celtic supremacy, injecting renewed belief into the dressing room and the wider fanbase. However, sustaining this trajectory will depend heavily on whether younger attacking options like Ryan Naderi and Kevin Kelsy can maintain consistent goalscoring form while key senior forwards remain sidelined. If the squad addresses its lingering issues with clinical execution in front of goal, these consecutive derby triumphs could serve as the foundational turning point of their entire domestic campaign.
