As another derby day resolved itself yet again in Celtic’s favour at the weekend -their fifth win from the last half dozen meetings with Rangers – questions were being asked about the state of the rivalry between Glasgow’s big two.
Celtic are dominating the fixture in the same way they’re lording it over the Scottish game in general at the moment.
A superiority that’s set to continue when you analyse their transfer dealings this summer, and in particular, the high-profile, big-money departure of Matt O’Riley.
For all his goals, assists and overall sterling contribution in the past couple of years, he’s not exactly been missed these past few games, has he? You could even argue Brendan Rodgers got exactly what he wanted come the end of August, a better Celtic squad than he had the month before.
As strong as the starting XI was on Sunday, Celtic’s bench was just as impressive. Arne Engels, Auston Trusty, Luke McCowan, Alex Valle and Adam Idah, to name but a few. Approximately £28m worth of talent. Roughly what Celtic brought in, give or take a few shillings, for O’Riley.
A player whose prodigious output appears, even at this early stage, to have been handsomely compensated for, but not by a new signing.
No, the man who has taken on the O’Riley mantle more than most is none other than Celtic’s ‘Mr Reliable’, Callum McGregor.
The club captain has always led by example and is usually the driving force behind any Celtic success. This season, with O’Riley’s departure, it’s almost as though all the myriad responsibilities he was already carrying suddenly seemed insufficient.
McGregor is currently Celtic’s top Premiership marksman, with three league goals from his first four games. Giving up Scotland duty to focus fully on his club for the remainder of his playing career is working out well thus far for the 31-year-old.
In the entirety of last season McGregor scored twice. The season before, five. The season before that, four.
The last time he was this prolific this early? His debut campaign under Ronny Deila a decade ago when he scored four in his first seven games as a Celtic player. This after a stunning season on loan at Notts County when he contributed 14 goals to a team that also included a young Jack Grealish.
It’s not unheard of for McGregor to contribute double figures to the Celtic cause, but it hasn’t happened since the nine-in-a-row campaign of 2019-20.
At his current strike rate, this may be the season in which he turns back the clock. If that proves to be the case, he’ll more than make up for O’Riley’s absence.
