How Celtic edged Rangers to reclaim Scottish Premiership from Old Firm rivals | Football News

Celtic wrapped up their title-winning season in style with a 6-0 win over Motherwell at Parkhead at the weekend – but how did the Hoops edge Rangers to reclaim their crown?

Slow start, strong finish

Celtic finished the season four points clear of Rangers but the final standings fail to show how the season panned out, with the Hoops’ 3-0 win on home soil in early February proving to be the pivotal point when the balance of power flipped.

Few could have predicted how Celtic would build momentum to become the dominant force after their campaign kicked off disastrously with a 2-1 defeat at Hearts – their first opening-day defeat since 1997 – and came only days after being knocked out of the Champions League.

Ange Postecoglou’s side responded with back-to-back victories but a 1-0 win in the first Old Firm clash compounded woes. An early international break through early September offered an opportunity to reset, but another defeat followed and their title tilt and rebuild appeared to be on the ropes.

However, that result in mid-September proved to be their final defeat of the league season. The graphic below shows Celtic’s average points-per-game ratio on a rolling, five-game average, revealing a surge in form towards an almost perfect win streak – tainted only by six draws over an eight-month period.

The early stutter cost Celtic in the standings, as Rangers only suffered one defeat in their first 23 league games, winning 19 of those fixtures – including a nine-game win streak that ended in their first fixture of this calendar year.

Rangers proceeded to drop points with two draws, sandwiched between a narrow win over Livingston, which set rocky foundations going into the second Old Firm clash of the league campaign.

This fixture proved pivotal: Celtic ran out 3-0 winners and leapfrogged the then-reigning champions at the summit of the Scottish Premiership table for the first time since August – and proceeded to hold top spot for the remainder of the campaign.

The graphic below shows the accumulative points over the campaign and highlights how this result proved to be the tipping point for the clubs’ trajectories and fortunes.

Impact signings, tactical tweaks

The departure of Neil Lennon and club captain Scott Brown at the end of last season, followed by the arrival of Postecoglou, certainly marked a new era for the Parkhead side. Indeed, a host of departures and arrivals followed.

As the extensive list below reveals, 18 players joined ranks over the summer and winter windows – with the majority of those playing key roles in the club’s title-winning success.

Two of those incomings were on loan deals – Cameron Carter-Vickers from Tottenham and Jota from Benfica – and the pair have arguably been the most instrumental of all additions this season.

Indeed, the pair rank as the club’s top two players for performances across the entire league campaign, according to the the Sky Sports Power Rankings, which ranks players based on starting position from 35 matchday metrics.

And new signings dominate the list of elite performers. Joe Hart is next up for season form, Carl Starfelt ranks fifth, Liel Abada in seventh and Josip Juranovic making the top 10.

Meanwhile, in terms of per-90 ratings for players who clocked 600 minutes or more, summer signing Georgios Giakoumakis tops the pack, joined by fellow recent recruits Matt O’Riley, and J-League stars Kyogo and Reo Hatate.

The prominence of defensive players among the form tables suggests the Hoops’ rearguard were arguably more instrumental in their success than the stars grabbing headlines up top.

The comparison below underlines how the team’s attacking output matched the averages returned under Lennon last term – but, defensively, the team tightened up considerably with just 0.58 goals conceded per game.

Of course, the raft of players sharing goals along the firing line excelled ,too. The graphic below highlights how Postecoglou implemented a wider style than the club used under Lennon.

The wide men, typically Jota and Abada, were deployed as inverted forwards, with Giakoumakis or Edouard dropping deeper and right-sided midfielder Rogic pushing higher in the 4-3-3 system – similar to how Liverpool set up in the Premier League.

League-topping returns

The statistics provide ample evidence to suggest Celtic were deserved winners this term, registering league-topping numbers across every key metric, including goals, shots on target, assists, possession and goals conceded.

The interactive graphic below provides an opportunity to explore how the Hoops dominated and shines light on their strengths in all areas of the pitch, including the injection of pace and width, which helped lead to 18 shots from fast breaks.

While reclaiming their crown was a moment to savour, perhaps the fact the team clocked the third-youngest starting XI this season at just 25 and 333 days – only 22 days older than the youngest side Hibs – provides even greater promise for more to come.

Meanwhile, Rangers weighed in as the league’s eldest team at 28 years and 111 days, suggesting Giovanni van Bronckhorst could be on the cusp of a necessary rebuild, as the club looks to restore last season’s glory on the domestic front.