What Rangers win over Celtic says about Glasgow power balance and Giovanni van Bronckhorst's tenure

There have been memorable statement performances for Giovanni van Bronckhorst across his five months at the Rangers helm.

Yet, the continental commonality to the two legs against Borussia Dortmund, and the Ibrox triumphs over Red Star Belgrade and Braga that have earned the club a Europa League semi-final against RB Leizig, had ensured something seismic was missing for the Dutchman. As the Ibrox club slid six points behind Celtic in the cinch Premiership title race, it seemed as if van Bronckhorst and his team couldn’t really keep the home fires burning while blazing a trail in cross-border competition.

What they produced at Hampden, with a display of extraordinary application and valour to come out on top against Celtic over 120 minutes despite falling behind before prevailing 2-1, has both readdressed and addressed what was gapingly absent from van Bronckhorst’s tenure. On the back of two straight derby defeats - the most recent the 2-1 loss at Ibrox only three weeks ago, which followed on from February’s 3-0 mauling in Glasgow’s east end - delivering against their bitterest rivals in the most unpromising circumstances feels profound. Beyond the potential for re-igniting their bid to retain the championship in the remaining five games - encounters about Celtic will now be understandable nervy - the success places them within one win of ending one of the club’s sorriest sequences. A total of 22 domestic cup finals have come and gone without blue and white ribbons being tied to such silverware. Now, Rangers will be heavily favoured to bring that sequence to a close when they face Hearts in the Scottish Cup decider on May 21. And if they do, with the 2011 League Cup the club’s last knock-out domestic success and the