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Philippe Clement’s first game at Old Firm ended in his first defeat as Rangers boss as Paulo Bernardo and Kyogo Furuhashi gave Celtic a 2-1 win at Parkhead.
The Belgian had gone 16 games unbeaten since taking over from Michael Beale in October but with no away fans inside the ground due to an allocation dispute between the two clubs it was always going to be the acid test for the injury-hit visitors.
The Ibrox took the game for good before Hoops midfielder Bernardo scored in the 25th minute, but Gers lacked at least a few clever chances to equalise.
Celtic’s prolific striker Furuhashi fired in at one point from 20 yards less than two minutes after the restart and there was even more misfortune for the Light Blues in the 71st minute when defender Leon Balogun was shown a straight red card by referee Nick Walsh for denying Daizen Maeda a clear scoring opportunity.
Rangers kept company and captain James Tavernier took a superb free-kick in the 88th minute, but the comeback may not end in 8 minutes.
Brendan Rodgers’ side are eight points adrift of neighbours Glasgow at the top of the overall standings and despite having two games in hand, the win may be just the springboard to another name win.
The packed 60,000-seat stadium was covered wall-to-wall in green and white for the lunchtime kick-off and, as expected, Hoops centre-back Stephen Welsh replaced the injured Cameron Carter-Vickers with the duo in Reo Hatate and Liel. Abada form. On the bench.
Defender Connor Goldson shrugged off a groin challenge and John Lundstram returned to midfield for the Rangers, who did their thing early.
But in the 12th minute, as the game began to ebb and flow, Bernardo headed a Luis Palma cross past the far post.
Rangers had Celtic’s defence but failed to capitalise, with Abdallah Sima’s wild run from the edge of the box after 20 minutes a prime example.
Bernardo went over the post from a similar distance, but moments later, when Palma’s corner from the right found its way to his feet 16 yards after Sima’s header, the Benfica loanee fired hard past Gers goalkeeper Jack Butland.
However, the home side experienced a major weakening in the 30th minute.
A slack pass from Parkhead full-back Alastair Johnson saw Rangers striker Cyriel Dessers dispossess Welsh to go through against keeper Joe Hart – but inexplicably he refused to shoot and allowed Johnston to get back with a recovery tackle.
The Welshman had injured his shoulder in Dessers’ attack and was immediately replaced by Maik Nawrocki, whose last game was in August.
Ross McCausland and Todd Cantwell made efforts for Govan’s side to get the equaliser, then Clement received a yellow card.
There was a possible Rangers penalty for a Johnston handball which came to nothing after a VAR check, with an earlier offside against Sima cited.
The Light Blues would be unlucky to continue trailing at half-time, but in the 47th minute, Furuhashi tucked in a pass just outside the box from Matt O’Riley and unleashed an unstoppable shot past a helpless Butland to completely replace the complexion. of the game. .
Kieran Dowell replaced Cantwell and Scott Wright replaced Sima while Clement tried something new, while David Turnbull replaced Bernardo just before Balogun was sacked for taking out Maeda as he made his way towards goal, with centre-back John Souttar replacing Lundstram in a reshuffle.
However, after a third Celtic goal failed to come, Tavernier set up a nervous finish when he fired a goal free-kick 20 yards past a restless Hart at his near post.
It was a worrisome end to the game for home enthusiasts, as the Rangers tried their best to equalize, but in the end it was in vain.
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