Ibrox club Rangers manager Steven Gerrard worked with Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers at Anfield outfit Liverpool.
Rangers manager Steven Gerrard and Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers know each other fully well, with the Ibrox man having played under the former Swansea City manager at Liverpool.
The pair achieved quite a bit of success during the 2013-14 season when Liverpool almost won the Premier League title.
The game against Chelsea at Anfield in April 2014 has been much talked about and was defining in the Reds’ season.
Liverpool lost the match 2-0, with Gerrard’s slip in the build-up to Chelsea’s opening goal fresh in all Anfield fans’ memories.
As stated in The Times, former Liverpool and England international midfielder Gerrard wrote in his autobiography about the build-up to the match against Chelsea: “I sensed an over-confidence in Brendan’s team talks. We played into Chelsea’s hands.”
Celtic manager Rodgers, who was in charge of Liverpool at the time, has now responded to those comments from Gerrard.
Rodgers told The Times: “I don’t think I was more or less confident. We’d won 11 on the bounce. You want to go in with confidence.
“The Chelsea game we played really well but it’s just unfortunate it [the slip, with Demba Ba scoring] happens right before half-time.
“We could have drawn but they score again at the death. It wasn’t pressure or anything like that. The last 14 games we won 12, drew one, lost one.”
Fascinating battle in Scotland
Celtic have been the best team in Scotland for a number of years, and the arrival of Gerrard at Ibrox is not going to change that overnight.
However, there is a buzz around Rangers and a newfound optimism, and that could help the Gers close the gap on their Old Firm rivals.
It will be interesting and fascinating to see the battle between Rangers manager Gerrard and Celtic boss Rodgers in Scotland next season.
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