‘Celtic make things happen. Rangers hope things happen’ – Old Firm reaction

As good as Celtic were, Rangers were equally poor.

There was a lack of composure in and out of possession, as the visitors were overwhelmed by both their opponents and the occasion.

“They could not handle it mentally or physically,” Dodds added. “That is worrying.

“James Tavernier had one of his worst days, for me. If you’re a top defender with all those goals and assists, there shouldn’t be a question asked about you.

“But there is. He found it really tough today. Maeda gave him such a hard time.”

Rangers boss Philippe Clement was defiant post-match, choosing to focus on the positives he took from the game.

“We are a young team, only just together,” the Belgian said. “The starting XI of Celtic have a lot of experience together.

“We have a lot of things to work on – we know. We knew that before the game already. In that way, it’s positive there were good signs in the way we started, but there are also lots of details to work on.”

Clement was asked if he believes his side can mount a serious title challenge on the evidence of that performance, and said he was “totally convinced” they can.

“It’s 34 games to go,” he countered. “Don’t forget what happened last week [against Ross County]. It was the best result in around four years for the club.

“It’s not black and white – it’s grey, maybe dark grey.

“Nobody wants to lose 3-0 but we need to take the right conclusions. The right conclusion is we should have made it 3-2 or 3-3 by being more efficient.

“They had four shots on target, we had four shots on target. There are a lot of things equal but not the result.”