There was a lot of hype surrounding the Scottish League Cup final between Celtic and the Rangers. Of course, Ange Postecoglou’s team have dominated in recent times and have lost only one domestic game this season till now. But the Ibrox club had done well following the arrival of Michael Beale as manager, and had matched the Hoops step for step, leading up to the big match.
Thus, many in the media and amongst the fans felt that Postecoglou had finally met his match in Beale. The match on the day though, painted a different picture.
Celtic proved to be the better team in almost every department as a brace from Kyogo Furuhashi sealed the win and the Scottish League Cup triumph. To be honest, the 2-1 scoreline did not tell the entire story. If the Hoops had been more clinical on the day, they could have scored three, four or even more goals.
Yet, just a couple of weeks after that game, Antonio Colak seems to be eyeing dominance in the future. As reported by the Daily Record, the Rangers player said:
"“Now I think we know what we have to show on the pitch to ensure a successful game. We have to stick with this. It has to be the standard. We want to win every game. If we are at our standards then I believe we will do that. This is the thing with our fans behind us, we can create a big dominance in the future.”"
Rangers player makes big claim despite losing to Celtic in League Cup final
It is safe to say that Celtic have been the best team in Scotland till now this season, and by some distance. They won the League Cup, are still in the Scottish Cup and are leading the Premiership by nine points with ten more games to go.
Thus, a potential treble is still on the table. But Celtic cannot make the mistake of taking their eye off the ball. Every game coming up must be treated as a final itself.
As for the Rangers, the Hoops cannot make the mistake of taking them lightly either. There is no question that they have gotten better following the arrival of Beale. And Postecoglou’s team must be focused on getting better every season as well.