Celtic were like a tidal wave on Saturday, their intensity ferocious, sweeping away all before them. Rangers' resistance seemed futile amidst such an irresistible footballing force. It felt like an annihilation.
But was it really?
High emotion is always going to be the reaction to a 4-0 defeat but amidst the fog of war, here are some indisputable facts.
- Celtic's 1.57 expected goals tally suggests the scale of the result was out of sync with the quality of chances they created
- Jon McLaughlin had a desperately poor day at the office and much better teams have been bailed out by top goalkeeping at Parkhead
- Rangers looked significantly off their usual levels in terms of effort, aggression and energy
- Of the four goals Celtic scored, three can be categorised as clear and basic defensive errors
None of this is to say Rangers didn't deserve to be well beaten - they did.
Nor are these points excuses for the inexcusable. Rangers is a club built on the simple mantra that success must come at any cost. Forget the fancy tippy-tappy football and flamboyance, managers at this club are measured by the number of trophies they add to the glittering trophy room atop the marble staircase.
Perhaps in there though, some context for such a catastrophic result can be grasped. After all, at some point the fury has to be put to one side and a more sober examination must begin.
Here's the good news - first up, Rangers can't play any worse again. It's impossible.
Secondly, they have been on the end of Old Firm defeat before under Giovanni van Bronckhorst and reacted by propelling the club to great things, and make no mistake, reaching a Europa League final and getting through Champions League qualifiers is great.
A 2-1 defeat by Celtic at Ibrox in early April effectively killed the title race and a big month of action looked doomed to be a painful trudge along a personal Via Dolorosa for Rangers fans. The response was sensational five months ago and there's no reason it can't be the same again. This group of players haven't become hopeless overnight despite the debacle of Celtic Park.
Tom Lawrence will be ready soon, Alfredo Morelos will get fit, 21-year-old Ridvan Yilmaz will bed in over time and there's no reason Ben Davies won't be a huge asset on the left side of the defence once he's ready to play.
While there is room for optimism in the launching of a recovery, perhaps less so in seeing it sustained through a season.
Domestic results under van Bronckhorst can't be sugar-coated. It's been nowhere near good enough to win titles and a look at the detail tells a worrying story.
In 13 domestic away matches in 2022, Rangers have lost five and drawn two. With a win record of 46 percent, it's not hard to see where the problems lie. There have been enough false dawns now to see a pattern and Saturday's defeat is just the latest in a line of poor outcomes away from the Ibrox stronghold.
If van Bronckhorst can't fix it fast, his reign will lie in tatters and all the context in the world won't change that reality.
While attention now turns to Ajax in the Champions League, the real drama will come at Pittodrie.
That's where the rebirth must start, because the excuses are fast running out.
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