Standout Rangers moments that could prove pivotal to Celtic's Champions League masterplan laid bare

It was the goal that never was. Yet it meant so much on Sunday and it could be a hint at what’s to come for Celtic.

No wonder Brendan Rodgers unconsciously kept talking after the game about Kyogo’s disallowed strike against Rangers like it hadn’t been ruled out. The Hoops boss mentioned it a couple of times, poking to Daizen Maeda scoring the ‘second’ and Kyogo’s ‘second’ goal he passed beyond Jack Butland.

The VAR team got the microscope out to scrub that 10th minute opener, it still proved to be a major moment in the match. And it could prove to be a pivotal moment in Celtic’s Champions League masterplan. On Sunday, it completely spooked Rangers. What felt like a promising start from Philippe Clement’s men evaporated into thin air. It was the second Gers realised they couldn’t press high up the pitch and not risk getting picked off.

Forcing a couple of offside early chances wasn’t going to cut it when they realised the Hoops could go through them like a knife through butter with just a couple of decisive passes. It was the moment Rangers knew their tea was out. The rest of the game played out like just about every other domestic game in Scotland for Celts.

There might have been a familiar badge on the jerseys of their opponents, but this might as well have been St Johnstone, Ross County or anyone else for that matter. Rodgers taking the chance to send on some of his new signings for a wee taste in the final half an hour was practically a sign of contempt.

But what was clear in the clash was the Celtic manager was not just operating on a single level. Rodgers never shows any mercy against his fierce foes and none was offered again at the weekend.

And you would never accuse the Irishman of experimenting in a fixture