After ten minutes, it was abundantly clear at Ibrox that Derek McInnes tricked Celtic. He was doing something that no one expected. The team lineup presented a four at the back, the obligatory two in midfield, three in attack and one striker. This has been the format that the manager has been using for the past month or so. It has indeed been working quite well and Ibrox now has been endorsing a general 4-2-3-1 formation. It fits the players that we have decently and it was the first sign that some kind of identity was appearing in this Rangers side.
For the Old Firm match on paper, we saw the lineup. It appeared to be the 4-2-3-1 again, but on the pitch a complete surprise was sprung, and this was how the match was won. Instead of going with that 4-2-3-1, McInnes shaped up with an an adaptable 3-5-2. At the back, Dujon Sterling, Emmanuel Fernandez and Olwethu Makanya formed a back three, which was completely unexpected by everybody, including Martin O’Neill.
Derek McInnes tricked Martin O’Neill cold
Celtic’s wily manager, who has seen it all and done it all, was caught completely cold by McInnes’ surprise choice. This was a risk. When we all saw that three at the back, we were confused, and that is exactly what McInnes was banking on. He had the 3 (yes, 3) wide men of James Penrice, Minsu Kim and Djeidi Gassama. Up front, he had Ryan Naderi and Kevin Kelsey, and in central midfield was that titanic performance from Dan Neil, while Nico Raskin did his part, even if he does not really want to be a Ranger anymore. But that is another topic for another day.
The tactical change to a 3-5-2 clearly worked, with Rangers pushing in every area of the pitch and having workers all over the park. And, of course, there was the role of James Penrice. He was technically a left back, but he was also playing left midfield, supporting Gassama on the left. Fundamentally, Penrice pushed further forward, while Raskin dropped much deeper as a pseudo sweeper or defensive midfielder. When Celtic had the ball, this shape contained them entirely.
Rangers formation leaves Celtic scrambling
O’Neill did not see this coming. He did not see Rangers going with a three at the back in places. The simple fact is that the Penrice selection is the one that has chucked everybody of an eastern persuasion. It meant that Celtic had to change their plans very quickly to accommodate it. McInnes has been going, as we said, with a 4-2-3-1 and this was the formation that O’Neill was expecting.
To then see Rangers vary between the 3-5-2 and 4-4-1-1, depending on your persuasion, showed the adaptability that McInnes had with his team. It also showed that he was able to take his much more experienced opponent by complete surprise. That is what won this one for Rangers. The simple reality was that Martin O’Neill was not expecting what he was facing and he did not have the adaptability to come to terms with it.
This is, of course, a manager in his seventies. He has been there, done it and bought the T-shirt, yet even he was surprised and taken aback as Derek McInnes tricked Celtic with the completely unexpected formation and adaptability of the hosts. Rangers moved seamlessly between a 3-5-2 and a 4-4-1-1. Consequently, Rangers were able to adapt between defence and attack with a different formation as and when needed.
Ryan Naderi gives Rangers tactical flexibility v Celtic
It was also the huge running of Ryan Naderi, who put in a big shift behind Kevin Kelsey, that was also a massive fillip here. While he might run around like some Grand National horse on cocaine, nevertheless he is an extremely hard worker and, of course, he got the assist for the second. Consequently, Naderi’s game has definitely picked up. He will never be a polished striker or a smooth gem, as they say, but he puts in a huge graft and causes problems for defences. That problem allowed the adaptability between both formations.
He was very much, we would say, the unsung hero, but he was pretty sung. While Dan Neil rightly caught a bunch of plaudits, Naderi’s own shift really allowed players around him to express themselves. Of course, we know his polish is lacking. He gives the ball away a lot and indeed makes some terrible passes and decisions with those passes. But the sheer nuisance factor of him allowed the formation to adapt between the two.
Because he was able to run around causing problems, he could adapt. Adapt to either being one of a front two or dropping deeper to support the midfield. The simple reality is that McInnes used that. He used Naderi’s adaptability, as well as Penrice’s adaptability as a left winger or left back, to switch between different formations.
McInnes tricked Celtic and delivers Rangers tactical masterclass
So in the end, Rangers surprised Martin O’Neill big time and McInnes showed a tactical masterclass which was far beyond anything he has demonstrated as Rangers manager thus far. The changes allowed Rangers to alter their shape depending on whether they had possession, while Celtic struggled to work out exactly what they were facing.
This match may just have been the one where Derek McInnes tricked Celtic and properly arrived as Rangers boss, and we have to say the timing was perfect.