Philippe Clement must have been more relieved than happy to see the Rangers complete a comeback against Motherwell to book their place in the Scottish League Cup final. This result should give him some room after the pressure had been building up, having seen his side fall 9 points behind Celtic and Aberdeen in the Premiership.
Incidentally, those two teams met in the other semi-final and there was no doubt about who the better team were on the day. Celtic won 6-0 against Aberdeen at Hampden Park in what was a statement performance from Brendan Rodgers' side.
It was impressive to say the least. Aberdeen had not lost a game this season until this weekend and nobody could have expected their first loss of the campaign to be of this magnitude. Especially after defeating the Rangers just days ago.
It was as if Celtic were intent on making sure people knew who the best team in Scotland are. And even Clement was full of praise for the Hoops. As reported by 67 Hail Hail, the Rangers manager told BBC Sportsound:
"Yeah, you see that Aberdeen also lost a lot of power against us a few days ago and that it’s more difficult to perform in that way every three days.
“And Celtic played a really good game, so we know they’re a really good side. They’re showing that domestically and in Europe.
“So it’s a really big challenge, and we’re going to go for the challenge."
Rangers fans won't be happy with Philippe Clement's Celtic comments
It is safe to say that Celtic are not used to receiving much praise from Rangers managers. But then, Clement has brought up the events of 2012 in recent interviews as well. So, he is not really going by the playbook at the moment.
Of course, Celtic cannot spend too much time thinking about Clement's praise. They have a big game coming up in Europe in midweek.
Celtic will be welcoming RB Leipzig to Parkhead in midweek in a very important Champions League game. The Hoops should be confident of their ability to get a result at home, especially having earned a draw away against Atalanta in the previous matchday. But then, the German side will be keen for a win as well, having lost all three of their games in the competition so far this season.