Celtic cruised past Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-final, with Patrick Roberts comfortably outshining Emerson Hyndman.
The margin of Celtic’s victory in the Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers may not grab as many headlines as their 5-1 Old Firm thrashing earlier in the season.
Yet you could argue that Brendan Rodgers’ side were even more dominant as they swept aside Pedro Caixinha’s below-par Gers on Sunday afternoon; the 2-0 scoreline unable to reflect the sheer gulf in glass between one Glasgow giant and the other.
And the difference in quality between the two sides was perhaps summed up by one head-to-head battle. Rangers will have pinned their hopes on Emerson Hyndman offering the creativity and vision to open up the hosts’ back line but he was comfortably overshadowed by Celtic’s own fleet-footed youngster at Hampden Park.
While Callum McGregor’s smooth strike and Scott Sinclair’s penalty booked Celtic’s place in the final, the thrilling Patrick Roberts was arguably the most influential player on the park.
Driving at defenders in a blur of green and white, the Manchester City loanee will have fans begging for his temporary deal to be extended for a third straight season after one of the most impressive individual performances of the entire campaign.
Rangers’ rookie left-back Myles Beerman did not stand a chance.
The Scottish Sun claimed recently that Celtic had enquired about taking Bournemouth-owned Hyndman across Glasgow in the summer with Roberts seemingly set to return to City after 18 months at Parkhead.
However, Sunday’s stroll only highlighted the difference in class between Celtic’s on-loan youngster and his Rangers counterpart.
Hyndman, who struck up a firm friendship with Roberts during their time together in the Fulham youth ranks, would be up against it if asked to replicate his influence at Celtic Park.
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