Leigh Griffiths claimed beforehand that he and Moussa Dembele would run riot if they were unleashed together at Hampden.

Turns out all they needed to do was cause a little carnage as Celtic nicked an 87th minute winner to settle what was a victory far more comprehensive than the scoreline would suggest as Brendan Rodgers led Celtic into the final of the Betfred League Cup at Rangers' expense.

Griffiths was introduced with the game still tied at 0-0 but it was his flick across goal with the outside of his boot that gave Dembele the chance to claim hero status against the Ibrox side once again.

Read more: James Forrest hails Dembele and Griffiths as dynamic duo team up to stun RangersGlasgow Times:

The Frenchman nicked in to slip an audacious backheel between the legs of Rob Kieran and Matt Gilks to spark a melee with the two forwards bouncing into the crowd to celebrate with a jubilant Hoops support.

And while it was Dembele would took the plaudits for his cool finish - those who make such decisions awarded him a man of the match award that may have been a more fitting return for his captain – there was something about Griffiths’ set-up play which shouldn’t be overlooked either.

Having spent the last month on the outside looking in, the Scotland internationalist showed Lee Wallace a clean pair of heels as he held the defender off before sliding the ball into the path of Dembele.

Read more: James Forrest hails Dembele and Griffiths as dynamic duo team up to stun Rangers

He will, though, feel as though he should have added a late goal to compliment his team-mate when he found himself through on goal but went for the chip rather than power, giving Gilks the chance to paw the ball away.

Given that Celtic had hit the woodwork with a Scott Sinclair free-kick in the second period and also had what looked like a legitimate goal from Erik Sviatchenko chopped off, the Parkhead side will feel that the result befitted a game in which they never scaled the same heights as they did in their league meeting against Mark Warburton’s side but which they dominated, particularly in the second period.

The opening stages had been more staid as Celtic felt their way into a game that was far more compact than the league meeting between the teams. With Lee Hodson at right-back and James Tavernier to the right of midfield, Scott Sinclair didn’t have the same space to exploit.

It did not take long, though, for whistler Craig Thomson to find himself under the spotlight when he took out his card to book Barrie McKay after the winger tumbled in the box.

Television replays suggested the Rangers winger was going down before he was touched by Jozo Simunovic, the irony being that had he stayed on his feet he may well have invited the challenge and won the penalty.

If that decision was going to attract attention then the overlooking of Dembele going down at the opposite end under very little contact was always going to leave him open to accusations of inconsistency.

While the opening period had been edgy, Celtic started the second period with a bit more of a swagger and significantly more cohesion. Twice in the opening minutes of the restart James Forrest was allowed time and space to run at Rangers. The first time it culminated with an effort high and wide but the second produced a corner, from which Celtic had the ball in the net, only for Thomson once more to make the wrong call.

His decision to rule out Sviatchenko’s effort citing a foul on Clint Hill invited further criticism and certainly the television evidence would suggest the Dane, who enjoyed a running duel with Kenny Miller before the Gers striker was replaced by Martyn Waghorn, should have had his name on the scoresheet.

That decision, though, seemed to galvanise Celtic with Tom Rogic and Sinclair operating a deft 1-2 that was eventually smothered by Gilks. The Aussie was in the mix again with a long-range effort that crept just past the post, while minutes later he played a chip over the top to send in Dembele only for the Frenchman to bring the ball down on his chest but fluff his effort.

At the other end Simunovic got a good block in on a Jason Holt effort while Craig Gordon was then on hand to collect the rebound from McKay, the only real moment of the game when his role was elevated beyond that of spectator.

Stuart Armstrong was introduced to the fray just after the hour mark but it was the energy of Brown that won the free-kick that took Celtic close to the opener. Upended at the edge of the box by Andy Halliday, Sinclair’s subsequent free-kick beat Gilks but bounced off the crossbar before the keeper recovered to swipe the ball to safety.

Read more: James Forrest hails Dembele and Griffiths as dynamic duo team up to stun Rangers

Griffiths was introduced to the game with 20 minutes remaining as Celtic went with a front two, much to the appreciation of the Hoops support.

It enabled Celtic to turn the screw on the Ibrox side and as the game wore on it seemed inevitable that the breakthrough would come.

Griffiths had almost spun Hill into turning the ball into his own net, a goal diverted by a late intervention from Hodson while Dembele had one pirouette on the edge of the box before sending a curling shot just wide.

It was, though, a stay of execution for Rangers. Griffiths beat Wallace on the left to cut inside and send the ball across goal for Dembele to seal Celtic’s passage into the final.