Despite the fact Rangers failed to reach this season’s Champions League, something tells us that they might’ve enjoyed last night’s action in the competition.
In fact, Rangers enjoyed quite the Tuesday afternoon as a number of good news stories came out of Auchenhowie and Old Firm rivals Celtic came back down to Earth with a wallop.
Momentum is one hell of a thing in Scottish football and after a rampant start to the season, to see Celtic so ruthlessly dismantled by Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League is, whether they like it or not, refreshing to see for Rangers fans.
Hammered 7-1 despite a fawning local media insisting the Gallowgate Galacticos were somewhere between plucky underdogs and rank outsiders for the competition, it’s a rude awakening for a smug Parkhead support which we’ve all had to endure in the early part of the season.
But as the dust settles on this humbling of humblings, Scottish football is thinking that maybe Rangers’ Old Firm rivals aren’t quite the impervious force we’re being told they are.
Celtic humbled in Champions League demoliton
Things started off pretty brightly for Rangers fans on Tuesday when news broke that Ianis Hagi has returned to the first-team squad.
Throw in Dujon Sterling signing a new contract, and the reappearance of Ridvan Yilmaz in Ibrox training, and suddenly the Gers support had some cause for optimism.
Ahead of Celtic’s trip to Borussia Dortmund, Rangers fans also had high hopes for the likes of Giovanni Reyna as the Parkhead side faced the Champions League music.
But what followed in Germany was a Blitzkrieg which has left a self-induglent Celtic support in something of a crisis of character.
Whilst Celtic’s domestic dominance remains unshakeable – for the time being at least – the image of the Parkhead side getting a scolding on the European stage will undoubtedly embolden Scottish sides.
Celtic, it appears, are not invincible. In fact, they’re quite blatantly far from it.
Scotland might not have the talents on show in the Borussia Dortmund dressing room but for anyone buying into the narrative that this Celtic side are world-beaters, they need only load up the highlights from this week’s hammering in Germany.
And even they won’t tell the whole story.
Rangers fans will be hoping the Parkhead side’s rivals smell blood and the result will have the Gers support at least reconsidering the landscape of this season in Scotland.
Rangers focus on Scottish Premiership title battle
Whilst we’ll all take this moment to indulge in the result, it’s all just useless gloating unless Rangers can make some serious inroads against the Parkhead side.
There have been some real shoots of progress in recent weeks at Ibrox, with the team winning six of the last seven without conceding a goal.
The only defeat in that tie came at Celtic Park, a bruising if not predictable 3-0 loss where Rangers played the same role Celtic just have in the Westfalenstadion.
Philippe Clement is yet to beat the Parkhead side and the next meeting between the two – be it in the Premier Sports Cup Final or at Ibrox – is as close to must-win for the Belgian as you can get.
But the season is long and as Rangers begin to find some consistency, Celtic have been taken down a timely peg or two on Champions League duties.
Rangers remain five points behind their rivals in the Scottish Premiership although Philippe Clement will be keen to stress it’s the standings in May and not October which really matter.
With momentum moving forward in Govan and slipping back in Parkhead, Rangers can view the events of the last 24 hours as a win.
Celtic had built up a head up of steam and threatened to motor away from the rest with a positive result in Germany.
But it’s now about who blinks next on domestic soil with all eyes set to turn to Dingwall and how Celtic respond against Ross County this weekend.
Rangers meanwhile shift their focus to a home tie against Ligue 1 giants Lyon in the Europa League.
A positive result there might just nudge that momentum further in the Ibrox club’s favour.
