Rangers boss Pedro Caixinha has stressed the key role Celtic skipper Scott Brown played in the Bhoys' Scottish Cup semi-final victory over his side at Hampden Park.
The tie was Caixinha's first taste of an Old Firm clash and Rangers were desperate to knock Celtic out of the cup to end their rivals' domestic treble hopes.
But Celtic were on top from the off and Rangers conceded in just the eleventh minute after a Callum McGregor goal, with the Bhoys star getting on the end of a cut-back from Moussa Dembele to place almost a powerful pass past Wes Foderingham.
Celtic continued to boss the game, but had to wait until the 51st minute to extend their advantage.
A quick break from Celtic saw Leigh Griffiths burst into the penalty area and when James Tavernier brought him down, Scott Sinclair extended the Bhoys' advantage from the spot.
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It ended 2-0 to Celtic and Caixinha was quick to note his side's disappointment at not performing as they had expected to.
And he also noted that Brown played a key role for the Bhoys, especially in the first half at Hampden.
"I think we were a little bit passive, especially in the first half. We understood that Scott Brown and [Stuart] Armstrong, but more Scott, were dividing the game by his play", Caixinha told Rangers TV.
"He was making all the Celtic team play by getting the ball from inside the wide areas where they can perform more aggressively and we tried to correct that at half time.
"I think we showed that in the first five minutes but after that we had the penalty and we need to go again in the game.
"We felt that having a two-goal disadvantage sometimes in football means nothing, if you score one goal you are again in the match", the Rangers boss continued.
"We look for it, we have one or two chances in order to get it, but we could not get it so I think it was a performance that we were not expecting and of course a result that we were also not expecting."
Caixinha will now look to rally his men to push Aberdeen for second spot in the Scottish Premiership.
