IT was a game which promised so much but in the end it delivered so little.
From the first minute until the last, this was Celtic's day in Govan and Rangers barely laid a glove on Neil Lennon's men.
The tiny pocket of Hoops fans in the corner broke out in joyous celebration at the end but for the Gers this was a horrible throwback to the drubbings of yesteryear.
There are few crumbs of comfort for anyone of a blue persuasion to take from a 90 minutes so contrasting from the two victories of last season.
Rangers earned long awaited wins over their rivals by playing a brand of football full of intent, vigour, and bravery, which relied on barnstorming performances from the likes of Scott Arfield.
But today, the blue side of Glasgow was distinctly off colour and, especially in an insipid first half, failed to truly test a Celtic rearguard nobody was quite sure of.
Gerrard will, fairly, incur some of the blame for mixing things up so drastically from last season's winning formula and sending a team out devoid of any real width.
Given Celtic's supposed vulnerability in the full back areas, the decision to place Sheyi Ojo and Jordan Jones on the bench and instead rely on Arfield and Joe Aribo to drift out to the wide areas seemed odd.
The pigeons came home to roost very quickly for the Light Blues and it was little wonder Ojo was thrown into the mix at half time; even if it did seem a little unfair on Glen Kamara to be the first lamb taken to the slaughter.
Ojo, off the back of a disappointing display in the Europa League, injected some impetus but Rangers continued to toil in the second half.
The fact Fraser Forster, thrown into his first Old Firm game in since April 2012, barely had a save of note to make tells the story.
The lack of width wasn't Gerrard's only big call and the Liverpool legend opted to start Jermain Defoe over Alfredo Morelos, despite the latter's ten goals in 11 games so far this season.
Defoe can't be singled out for blame, of course, and it was always going to be difficult for him against the towering behemoth Christopher Jullien, who kept a watchful eye over the veteran.
On the only occasion the 36-year-old managed to wriggle free from the Frenchman, Nir Bitton was there to stop him getting a shot away.
Morelos was introduced in the second half and looked lively but even he couldn't truly test the Celtic backline.
The less said about Gerrard's final sub, Jordan Jones, and his petulant red card, the better.
This was a painful derby defeat and in many ways even more so than the drubbings of old. At least then, there was no hope to kill you.
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