Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt.
I made it crystal clear before the game at Ibrox that those two were going to have to be outstanding for Celtic to win.
Both players were every bit as good as they needed to be.
In fact, they were even better with one of them coming up with a winning goal.
Carter-Vickers and Starfelt were asked time and time again to defend their box. To cope with set plays, to match the Rangers strength in those situations.
Time and again they came up with the answers. Time and again they put a head on things. They got a block in. They hustled and harried a striker.
Kemar Roofe might not have given them as stiff a test as Alfredo Morelos may have done, but who is to say they wouldn’t have handled him as well?
There was no clean sheet, but that wasn’t really their doing. They were left exposed when Josip Juranovic got caught with a ball inside.
But from that point they were superb and gave Celtic the type of backbone which they have lacked in some of the recent matches against Rangers, especially at Ibrox.
I have to tip my hat to Ange Postecoglou. He got the huge pre-match calls correct.
When I thought about a Celtic starting line-up, there were two positions that I wasn’t sure about. The first was midfield and the choice between Tom Rogic and Matt O’Riley.
The Denmark Under-21 international had performed so well in the previous encounter against Rangers that I thought he might get the nod.
But Postecoglou went with Rogic and the pay off was terrific. Everyone knows my feelings on Rogic and it was all there again from him.
Touch and poise. Composure and authority. His goal might have been a simple enough finish, but it’s just the way he does it. Stress free where others panic.
Rogic has been one of the real success stories of the Postecoglou reign and that was a masterful performance just when his boss needed it.
The other choice in my eyes was Daizen Maeda or Liel Abada. It was my feeling that the Israeli might be preferred.
But the manager chose to go for Maeda and what a decision that was. I could scarcely believe his running power.
Everyone knows he brings energy to the team, but that was next level stuff. Maeda worked the Rangers backline in terms of through passes and trying to get in goal.
He worked his way back down the pitch to help out in various areas and he was still running around in the final seconds.
Not giving defenders peace or space to look up and pick passes and keep pressure on. It’s rare you see someone get through that amount of work in a single game.
Postecoglou barely had a failure. Giorgis Giakoumakis occupied defenders and his captain Callum McGregor was everywhere.
Greg Taylor did well and Juranovic recovered from a not so impressive beginning. Jota showed his class by keeping the ball when needed and the subs all brought something to the game, even if O’Riley didn’t last long due to a knock.
When Joe Hart needed to come up with the big save from Fashion Sakala, he did just that.
The fact he was having to deal with a broken bottle in his box was the one thing that made me angry during the game.
It is absolutely disgraceful that someone would consider walking into a stadium with a bottle in their possession and then throw it into a park.
It left me gobsmacked. I’m a big supporter of Scottish football and I stand up for the game whenever I can, but there’s nothing you say to defend that.
But let’s concentrate on football. I didn’t think that Celtic had any chance of winning a title this season given what Postecoglou had to inherit.
The fact he even had them challenging was impressive enough, but to have them six points clear at this stage is a remarkable effort.
Only a fool will say it is over. It’s not easy to win a championship, especially the first as it would be for a lot of the Celtic squad.
Crucially, no-one inside the camp will think it is done. The manager and skipper simply won’t allow that to happen.
You saw them and heard them after the last Rangers game saying that nothing had been achieved after the 3-0 win and that’s the same here.
There are still 18 points up for grabs and Celtic are going to have to keep their foot on the pedal.
Rangers could go to Celtic Park after the split and win. They are a good side and they are capable of doing so.
However, it just felt like there was something pivotal about this victory for Celtic.
The way they went to the home of their rivals and recovered from a shocking start to win the game and cope with everything that was thrown their way speaks volumes.
People had to stand up and be counted when it really counted and it was the ones in green and white who did so with the biggest influence.
No pair stood stronger than Carter-Vickers and Starfelt. The duo were warriors for their team-mates and their manager.
It was just the way it had to be for Celtic to win. And that’s what the two of them delivered.
