McGregor vs Lundstram: Where the Celtic vs Rangers title battle was won

The big picture after Celtic’s win over Rangers is that the champions now have all-but completed a successful defence of their crown, but a key component in their success on the day was their ability to win more of the individual battles than the visitors.

Here, we look at some of the key contests within the game, and how they impacted a result that has Brendan Rodgers and his men on the brink of the Premiership title.

CALLUM MCGREGOR VS JOHN LUNDSTRAM

This wasn’t really a contest. Not in any meaningful sense. One led his men for 90 minutes, the other left his mates in the lurch.

The truth is that the Rangers midfield lost the battle in the middle of the park, with Mohamed Diomande and Tom Lawrence just as ineffectual as Lundstram had been prior to his sending off. But not to highlight his specific role in his side’s defeat wouldn’t be telling the true story of the game.

Had Lundstram not lost his head and lunged into that needless challenge on Alistair Johnston, who knows what may have happened? Rangers were still in with a shout at pinching a draw after all late on, and the Celtic defence never looked entirely comfortable until Willie Collum sounded the final whistle.

Lundstram had already scored an own goal by the time of his red card, of course, and that too was entirely unavoidable. Yes, he was running towards his own goal, but he had no awareness of what was round about him. Daizen Maeda’s cross was going nowhere near a player in green and white, and his panic resulted in the concession of the critical goal of the game.

By stark contrast, McGregor – though still not fully fit after his Achilles issue – was full of poise, calming down his teammates in the crucial moments and firing them up when required too. In short, everything you would want from an experienced campaigner in the centre of the park.

Lundstram displayed the opposite.

FABIO SILVA VS ALISTAIR JOHNSTON

This ding-dong, on the other hand, was much more evenly matched, and had it not been for some wasteful finishing Silva may well have come out on top.

Johnston seemed to be edging the physical side of this battle early on, winning some challenges and getting the home crowd on their feet. But Silva was game alright, and he slowly started to get some joy against the Canadian, getting himself into some dangerous areas.

In fact, he should have done better than pull an effort wide when Johnston sclaffed a clearance, before he passed up the biggest opportunity of the day for Rangers aside from their goal, fluffing his lines when the impressive Dujon Sterling served up a deep cross on a silver platter three yards from the Celtic goal.

Silva has had his critics, even among the Rangers support, and he is unlikely to have won too many of them over after failing to convert those chances. But he certainly competed well, and it was evident, perhaps surprisingly, that he was giving everything for the cause.

As for Johnston, his weakness in defending high balls at Celtic’s back post continues to be an issue, but he too never took a backwards step, and it made for an entertaining contest between the pair.

JAMES FORREST VS BORNA BARISIC

Alas, this match-up was a little on the uneven side too, as James Forrest continued his remarkable resurgence in form against a player in Borna Barisic who will be glad to now have seen the back of Celtic Park.

The Croatian has never looked comfortable at the home of his side’s city rivals, and while Celtic may no longer have Liel Abada to give him the heebie jeebies, Forrest did a decent enough job of it in his stead.

Barisic was like a rabbit in headlights at times, particularly in the early stages of the match, with Forrest breezing past him in the opening seconds and almost forcing an own goal from John Souttar.

It didn’t really get any better for the left back, with his one crumb of comfort being that he did stand up a decent cross to the back stick that eventually led to Cyriel Dessers getting on the scoresheet.

But that probably sums up Barisic during much of his Rangers career. Good quality in an attacking sense from his left foot, but too often found wanting defensively when it really matters.

Celtic’s veteran winger had his number, and Philippe Clement may be wishing that Ridvan Yilmaz could have given him more than just the final half hour.

As for Forrest, his late season form will now surely have planted a major seed in the mind of Scotland manager Steve Clarke as he finalises his 26-man squad for the forthcoming European Championships.