- Ianis Hagi - 7'
- Robin Pröpper - 66'
- Danilo - 81'
Rangers vs Celtic: Hosts get Ibrox win to end unbeaten streak
GLASGOW, Scotland -- Rangers kicked off the new year with a rare Old Firm derby victory, earning a one-sided 3-0 win over Celtic at Ibrox Stadium on Thursday.
It is just Rangers' second win in the fierce rivalry in their last 15 meetings, their only other victory coming under Michael Beale in May 2023.
An early strike from Ianis Hagi gave Rangers the lead on seven minutes, with a second-half goal from Robin Pröpper doubling the lead and putting the 51,000 home fans in a jubilant mood.
The atmosphere reached fever pitch in the final 10 minutes when Rangers substitute Danilo netted a third to guarantee the end of Celtic's unbeaten start to the league season, though they maintain an 11-point lead atop the Scottish Premiership.
In some ways, it was like the other league Old Firms of recent times, with no away-fan allocation in the stadium. On the pitch though, there was a marked change.
Rangers' early lead came when midfielder Nicolas Raskin intercepted the ball in the middle of the pitch and sprang forward before laying it off to Hagi, whose superb strike found the bottom right corner.
Hagi bounded straight to the touchline and into the arms of his manager, Philippe Clement. The Belgian coach has been under pressure after claiming just one win in five games, during which he has had to make do without the bulk of his defensive line, including captain James Tavernier. Matters were made worse when first-choice goalkeeper Jack Butland was hospitalised with an internal bleed in his leg earlier this week.
"It was a very strong collective victory with some players playing out position but doing a very good job," Clement said.
Despite the troubles the team sheet could have brought about, Rangers never relented on the pitch -- something admitted by Celtic right-back Alistair Johnston after the game.
"Football isn't played on paper, it's played on the pitch," he said.
Rangers nearly doubled their lead on 13 minutes when winger Václav Cerný's long-range effort bounced off the bar. It was followed soon after by a terrific solo run from right-back Ridvan Yilmaz, although his effort was less impressive and rolled into the grateful arms of Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.
Brendan Rodgers' side looked out of character and off the pace throughout, perhaps a sign of overconfidence given their sizeable points advantage in the table.
"I told the players at half-time that we couldn't really play much worse," Rodgers said.
Winger Daizen Maeda had a half-chance to level the score when he found himself with the ball at his feet and space at the edge of the box but blazed his shot well wide. It rarely got much better.
No matter what the form guide and table said, it was the hosts who were playing with confidence, none more so than Hagi who was instrumental on the left wing.
The game could have changed on the stroke of half-time when Rangers left-back Jefté was handed a yellow card, although he could easily have seen red after his elbow caught the face of Nicolas Kuhn, who was left bloodied on the floor.
Instead, Rangers began the second half where they left off, soaking up pressure from the visitors and looking a constant handful on the counterattack.
Celtic's Kyogo Furuhashi found the back of the net with a delightful volley, only to see the linesman raise his offside flag and a subsequent VAR check confirming the decision.
VAR was in action again seconds later when Mohammed Diomande's hand accidentally caught Furuhashi in the face, although no red card was given.
Rangers couldn't believe they were not further ahead on the hour mark when Cerný was sent through on goal, only to see his attempted finish hit the far post, bounce back along the goal line and narrowly stay out. However, they didn't need to wait long.
On 66 minutes, Celtic failed to clear a corner and allowed centre-back Pröpper to arrive at the back post and strike home.
Any hopes that the doubled deficit could provoke the visitors into more convincing action were short-lived as Rangers continued to look comfortable out of possession and more threatening on the counter. Home fans' fears of an unlikely comeback were officially put to bed just after Danilo replaced Nedim Bajrami as he scored with his first touch of the ball, finishing off a quick break that overwhelmed the Celtic defence.
Asked whether Celtic, not needing to win, failed to fight as much as Rangers, Rodgers said: "They definitely showed that, but I said it before the game, it [the league table] wouldn't matter. The lead could be 50 points, this game is everything.
"We never played with the edge and the personality that the team has shown consistently. As a collective, we just weren't quite there."
Game Information
- Referees:
- Don Robertson
Scottish Premiership Standings
Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Celtic | 19 | 16 | 2 | 1 | +45 | 50 |
Rangers | 19 | 12 | 3 | 4 | +21 | 39 |
Dundee United | 20 | 9 | 7 | 4 | +9 | 34 |
Aberdeen | 20 | 10 | 4 | 6 | +4 | 34 |
St Mirren | 21 | 8 | 3 | 10 | -7 | 27 |
Motherwell | 20 | 8 | 3 | 9 | -9 | 27 |
Hibernian | 21 | 6 | 7 | 8 | -4 | 25 |
Kilmarnock | 21 | 6 | 6 | 9 | -11 | 24 |
Dundee | 20 | 6 | 4 | 10 | -6 | 22 |
Ross County | 21 | 5 | 7 | 9 | -17 | 22 |
Heart of Midlothian | 21 | 5 | 5 | 11 | -7 | 20 |
St Johnstone | 21 | 4 | 3 | 14 | -18 | 15 |