Rangers defender Connor Goldson says he thought playing against Celtic would be equivalent to taking on Barcelona, having been told that there is a big gap in quality between the Glasgow sides.
Olivier Ntcham's goal was the difference on Sunday as Steven Gerrard suffered defeat in his first Old Firm derby as Gers boss. It was also Goldson's first taste of a Glasgow derby, but he was surprised at how close the teams were as Celtic recorded a 1-0 win.
The 25-year-old moved to Rangers from Brighton in the summer and admits that he was worried facing Brendan Rodgers' Celtic would be like coming up against Lionel Messi and co. at Camp Nou.
"Obviously this is the first time I have played in a derby but when I came here in pre-season I heard a lot of people say how much better they were, how they beat Rangers 5-0 last season," Goldson told Sky Sports.
"I thought they were going to be like Barcelona. I am not just saying that.
"There was such a down in our football club of how big the gap was, it was like some of our players, that are maybe not here any more, were looking at them like they were nowhere near catchable.
"I am not going to say they are not a good team. They are a good team and we respect them.
"But I think we are getting closer and the players that the manager has brought in have been together for two, three months. We will get closer."
The Old Firm derby win saw Celtic climb to second in the table, just three points behind Hearts after four games. However, just one win from their opening fixtures sees Rangers down in seventh place, their worst league start since the 1989-90 season.
