Celtic’s job is to prove this Old Firm outcome is nowhere near as significant as Rangers would like it to be. A glance at the Scottish Premiership table – Celtic still lead their old adversaries by 11 points and 20-odd goals – suggests Brendan Rodgers and his players can achieve that. It is simply that the scale of Celtic’s ineptitude in this 3-0 defeat had to be seen to be believed. Not one element of their team functioned properly.

Rangers opened 2025 in swashbuckling style against rattled, ragged opposition. This was a puzzling afternoon for Celtic, one that is bound to trigger speculation about complacency with the title all but guaranteed.