Rangers expected a lot of Carlos Pena when he arrived at Ibrox in the summer – but his Old Firm debut against Celtic did not go to plan.
The scoreline may not have been quite as clear-cut as the 5-1 thrashing dished out at Ibrox in April but the gulf in class between Rangers and Celtic was still clear to see on Saturday afternoon.
Brendan Rodgers’ champions cruised to the most comfortable victories, Tom Rogic and Leigh Griffiths scoring in a 2-0 win that already appears to herald the march to a seventh successive Scottish Premiership crown as early as the second month of the new season.
Rangers barely laid a glove on their illustrious opponents, even on their home turf, as a grand total of seven players were handed their Old Firm debuts by Pedro Caixinha.
And while 19-year-old centre-half Ross McCrorie excelled against quality opposition and Alfredo Morelos was only denied another goal by a superb Craig Gordon save, Rangers’ only real chance in 90 minutes, Mexican international Carlos Pena stood out for all the wrong reasons.
One of the most reputable of Caixinha’s Portu-Mex recruitment drive, the 27-year-old was yet to make a positive impression on Rangers supporters and that did not change in his first ever Scottish Premiership start.
He not only struggled to put the squeeze on Celtic metronome Scott Brown, Pena also failed to make Rangers tick on the odd occasion he found the ball at his feet.
Better days will come but, for now, Rangers supporters are wondering why Caixinha put his trust in the Mexican on Saturday.
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