Celtic turn on the style
It looked wholly unlikely when Graham fired Rangers into a second-half lead, but Celtic still found time to put on a show for a sizeable crowd inside Parkhead. An equaliser was the least they deserved in what was a tight affair until then, but they went on to show impressive desire and quality in putting their city rivals to the sword with a ruthless late surge.
From a Rangers perspective, it was a quite astonishing collapse. Momentum swung back and forth regularly, but McCallum's young team had taken a level of control in the second period and looked on course for victory with Graham's goal.
What followed will feel unforgivable for the Rangers manager, but Celtic deserve immense credit for simply refusing to go away. In the end, they got their rewards and more with three late goals that turned a 50-50 affair into an emphatic victory.
Summers a Celtic standout
Vata is the emerging name from the Celtic academy but, on this evidence, one of his team-mates has a real chance. The attacking midfielder caught the eye with some lovely touches and incisive, direct play.
Summers, playing in a role akin to that of Reo Hatate, was relentlessly positive in possession, causing Rangers a number of issues with his close control and eye for a through pass. The teenager did fade somewhat after the interval, but showed enough to suggest he could have a long-term future at Parkhead.
With Postecoglou watching from the stand, this was an opportunity for players to make a real impression on the first-team manager. With more displays such as this one, you sense Summers could move on to his radar before long.
Bags of entertainment
The senior sides will meet on Monday but this was an entertaining, action-packed prelude to the big derby. Both teams set out to attack, albeit Rangers perhaps were a little more pragmatic at times, and it made for a hugely watchable 90 minutes.
With Celtic especially, there were echoes of how the first team operate in their use of wide players, a midfield trio, and an emphasis on trying to thread passes through the channels for advancing runners. It was typified in the winning goal, getting in behind the Rangers defence and forcing McCann to turn into his own net from the cut-back.
Even at 3-2, Rangers may feel they were worthy of a point but, ultimately, they were brutally punished for not shutting the game down after retaking the lead. It's an outcome that should serve as a painful learning curve for the Ibrox youngsters, who found themselves plummeting from the high of a potential victory at Celtic Park, to being on the wrong end of a heavy defeat. For Celtic, the result should provide a real momentum boost as they attempt to rein their rivals in at the top of the league.
