Rangers surprised Celtic with a dominant victory in the Old Firm derby on January 2, easing the load somewhat on manager Philippe Clement.
Brendan Rodgers’ team hasn’t lost a singles national adjustment in 2024, but they obviously looked washed out in their New Year’s opening opening when they faced 24 shots in a first-ever recorded singles adjustment first.
A 2-1 loss to St. Mirren and a 2-2 draw with Motherwell to end December left the Light Blues 14 points behind their fierce city rivals at the top of the Scottish Premiership table heading into this fixture, and the leaders arguably let complacency take hold as they produced a lifeless display against a Rangers defence missing three key players and its first-choice goalkeeper behind it.
? pic. twitter. com/o7l4ry5nla
Ianis Hagi’s purpose after just seven minutes, scored in front of his father, the wonderful Romanian Gheorghe Hagi, if Ibrox buzzed, and Vaclav Cerny hit the bar with a deflected shot before a quarter of an hour had been played.
Celtic looked sluggish compared to their hosts, there was a nervy moment just before half-time when Reo Hatate’s shot had to be saved through Liam Kelly who was just having his moment to start Rangers.
Clement’s side put on a similar first-half display in last month’s Scottish League Cup final, only to lose results after a 3-3 draw, but there was no repeat of this slump in the criteria in the second half: Kyogo Furuhashi finished off intelligently by being excluded. for Offaspect will have reminded some enthusiasts of this sadness at Hampden Park.
However, those concerns ended just after the hour mark. Robin Propper proved to be an unlikely hero, returning from a narrow diversity after Nico Raskin’s headline blocked, and it never looked like Celtic would return from there.
Substitute Danilo then scored barely a minute after coming off the bench, side-footing home from close range to spark celebrations in the stands. The title may be beyond them for this season, but this was at least a game that showed there is not as big a gap between the Old Firm rivals as the league table suggests.
Full commentary and highlights | Team news and lineups
Venue: Ibrox Stadium, GlasgowReferee: Don Robertson
Keep track of each and every setting and purpose through the SN live scoreboard
Start lines:
Rangers (4-2-3-1, left to right): 31. Liam Kelly (GK) -3. Ridvan Yilmaz, 21. Dujon Sterling, 4. Robin Propper, 22. Jefte (47. Robbie Fraser)-43Array Nicolas Raskin (8. Connor Barron), 10. Mohamed Diomande – Vaclav Cerny, 14. Nedim Bajrami (99. Danilo) , 30. Ianis Hagi (7. Oscar Cortés) – 29. Hamza Igamane (9. Desserts Cyriel))
Celtic (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Kasper Schmeichel (GK) — 2. Alistair Johnston, 20. Cameron Carter-Vickers, 5. Liam Scales, 3. Greg Taylor (11. Alex Valle) — 28. Paulo Bernardo (14. Luke McGowan), 42. Callum McGregor, 41. Reo Hatate (27. Arne Engels) — 10. Nicolas-Gerrit Kuhn, 8. Kyogo Furuhashi (9. Adam Idah), 38. Daizen Maeda
More: How Celtic won a thrilling Scottish League Cup final | All the time
What a result is it! Rangers inflict their first internal defeat in Celtic in more than a year. It is one of its worst functionality of the remote season. The name race may be firmly in your hands, but will bite.
90 3 minutes: Rangers make a trio of subs in the final seconds, possibly to give some players a room of applause. Celtic are beaten. They glance beaten throughout, in truth.
88 mins: There’s a break in play after Arne Engels was struck on the head by something that appeared to be thrown from the crowd. The referee hands the object to the fourth official — it looks like coin — who then passes it to a police officer to be placed in an evidence bag. Ugly, unnecessary scenes. Engels is okay, at least.
86 minutes: Celtic faced 24 shots in today’s game. Since Opta started keeping records for Scotland’s most sensible flight in 2013/14, they have never faced so many matches.
81 mins: GOAL! DANILO SCORES WITH HIS FIRST TOUCH! Johnston is shrugged off the ball by Jefte, who drives down the left and fires in a low cross that is blocked by Carter-Vickers. The ball falls kindly to substitute Danilo, who sweeps home first time. He was on the pitch for 70 seconds before that goal!
Look in the United States:
It only took one minute for super sub Danilo to find the back of the net for Rangers! ⚡️⏱️ pic.twitter.com/rHnOfwZSNs
UNITED KINGDOM:
“It’s a declared victory!” ? The Rangers have a third against Celtic when Danilo scores seconds after entering! ?Pic. twitter. com/KRWC1JV8ez
78 minutes: big at the break for the Rangers, since Igamane and Bajami have two against one against Carter-Vickers, but the striker’s pass at Bajami is failed and cut.
75 minutes: Rangers have controlled 23 shots to Celtic’s four so far. Three of the league leaders’ attempts came in the first half; the latter has just noticed that a header by Maeda was blocked by Yilmaz. It was a truly unusual performance.
In fact, it was not recorded as a shot. They are the three.
70 minutes: The rangers need handball after Idah blocks Igamane’s shot in a corner, but his arm opposes his body. There is no possibility of being given.
66 mins: GOAL! RANGERS DOUBLE THEIR LEAD! From the resulting corner, Raskin’s header is blocked on the line, but Robin Propper is there to poke in the rebound. Celtic are in big trouble now!
Watch in USA:
The right place, the moment for Robin Pröpper of the Rangers while the Ibrox stadium explodes! ??️ Pic. twitter. com/d2ai44T4ZP
UNITED KINGDOM:
“It’s a year at the Rangers right now!” ?Brobin propper makes the Rangers 2-0 oppose Celtic! pic. twitter. com/nfucr8pylh
65 mins: Good save from Schmeichel! Cerny is again allowed to cut in and shoot on his stronger left foot, but the Celtic keeper is equal to it. There’s been a triple change for the visitors, with Adam Idah, Alex Valle and Luke McCowan coming on.
60 minutes: How did it turn out? Cerny goes to the goal and Schmeichel’s position on the ground, but returns from the inside of the post and bounces across the goal line without entering! The flag had been lowered, even if it is on purpose, the VAR may have declared it offside.
57 minutes: Penalty for Rangers after a low cross from Jefte hit Paulo Bernardo’s swing arm, but there’s no chance it’ll be awarded. However, this is a smart moment for the home team.
53 minutes: Kyogo lens – No! Outside! It is a sublime end because it controls the Carter-Vickers balloon above before moving a shot in Kelly and the network, but Var confirms that it is strongly out of play. However, it is a precaution for the Rangers.
50 mins: Celtic have started the half well, but Rangers have already threatened on the counter-attack. Another Hagi shot bounced awkwardly in front of Schmeichel, but he got right behind the ball.
There is no replacement on the side.
The Rangers lead 1-0, and rightly so. It’s been the biggest team and Celtic just haven’t been there.
But all of those things were true at halftime of the Ultimate Cup at DicemberArray.
45+4 mins: Good save, Liam Kelly! The corner falls to Hatate, about 12 yards from goal. He does well to keep the half-volley on target, but Kelly is behind it to parry the ball clear. The referee blows for halftime amid a small scuffle on the pitch and loud boos from the stands. It is the Old Firm, after all.
45+3 mins: The delivery isn’t great, but Taylor is able to win a corner. Celtic will have another chance before the break.
45+1 minutes: Carless de Jefte, who throws an arm and moves Nicolas-Gerrit Kuhn in the face. Celtic gets a loose kick near the corner. Kuhn, in fact, is bleeding and will require remedy before being taken.
39 mins: BRILLIANT from Carter-Vickers! Sterling makes a great challenge and Rangers break superbly. Bajrami waits as he assesses his options before threading a fine throughball into Mohamed Diomande’s path, but Carter-Vickers times his sliding tackle to perfection. That could be a pivotal moment.
36 minutes: Hagi has some other possibility to shoot still landing while moving the ball, hold on like this. This comes from some other bad pass from Reo Hatate, which is under a genuine adjustment in Ibrox.
32 minutes: Johnson grabs Hagi’s neck with his arm raised while jumping through a head. Rangers enthusiasts are furious, but it’s accidental. Var takes a look and accepts.
27 minutes: So far this game is looking a bit like the latter part of the Cup final. Rangers look better with and without the ball and so far Celtic are benefiting from being away from goal. But as this day demonstrated, things can temporarily change in the old corporate parties. . .
18 mins: Great work from Yilmaz as he steps forward to cut out Hatate’s pass to Maeda, strides forward, and tries a low shot. It doesn’t quite have the power of Hagi’s effort, and Schmeichel saves comfortably.
13 mins: OFF THE BAR! Rangers break swiftly after Hatate loses the ball in midfield. Vaclav Cerny cuts in from the right and tries a shot, which takes a big deflection. Kasper Schmeichel is confident the ball is going nowhere near his goal… until it hits the crossbar and goes behind for a corner.
7 minutes: GOAL!Ibrox bursts in! Liam Scales’ pass in midfield is gently cut off and Nico Raskin sends the ball to Ianis Hagi with a great backheel. Hagi has a lot to do from 20 yards, but he selects the right back corner after shooting Cameron Carter-Vickers’ legs. Brilliant goal.
Look at it in the USA:
Ianis Hagi delivers a brilliant strike for Rangers! ? pic.twitter.com/RLUuxZLqty
UK:
Ianis Hagi Rangers, an early advantage opposed to Celtic! ?⚡️Pic. twitter. com/Weqyvmn4jn
5 minutes: Nedim Bajrami attempts a shot inside the Celtic area but his effort hits Hamza Igamane. The Rangers responded well to this early pressure. It’s a smart start to the game.
2 mins: An early corner for Celtic leads to a bit of a goalmouth scramble, with Dujon Sterling clearing from inside the six-yard box. Nery moments early on for Rangers.
After a minute of silence in tribute to those affected through the Ibrox disaster, the game begins.
10 minutes before kick-off: Representatives from both clubs paid tribute before today’s match to those affected by the Ibrox crisis on January 2, 1971, when another sixty-six people were killed and more than two hundred injured in a staircase while others People were trying to leave the stadium after the 1-1 draw in the previous match.
Representatives from Rangers and Celtic pay their respects on the anniversary of the IBROX disaster. #Bbcfootball pic. twitter. com/sajt7rklve
27 minutes before kick-off: Clement is confident that Kelly and Nico Raskin will give their best in the absence of key figures like Butland and Tavernier.
“It’s a new adventure with this player organisation,” he told Sky Sports. “Some guys are taking smart steps in that regard. Nico Raskin is developing in that role and you want multiple leaders on the court.
“Of course you miss two leaders, but I’m expecting from Liam Kelly the same. He’s being doing it in the dressing room and I expect that on the pitch also.”
1 hour and 10 minutes before kickoff: Team news is here. Goalkeeper Liam Kelly is making his start for Rangers as part of six changes to the starting line-up. It looks like Ridvan Yilmaz will line up at right back in place of injured captain James Tavernier. Indeed, Celtic are starting Daizen Maeda, while Alistair Johnston has the expected fit.
1 hour forty-five minutes before kick-off: The talk is already turning to the prospect of Celtic enjoying an invincible season. The Hoops have lost just one domestic fixture since December 2023, and their only defeat of 2024/25 in all competitions came here in that 7-1 loss to Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League.
‘I know what it’s like to win this game’ Brendan Rodgers looks ahead to Celtic’s big clash against Rangers at Ibrox ?️ Stadium pic. twitter. com/94xonvy6aX
2 hours before the start of the game: it will be the 444th Old Firm Derby, and the first of 2025. Vaya, how the Rangers would like to go.
? | @DaniloPereira9 pic.twitter.com/E86daPRWfs
The event begins in Glasgow, Scotland, at 3 p. m. time.
Here’s how that time translates across some of the major territories:
Clement made six adjustments to the lineup, adding a starting moment for goalkeeper Liam Kelly in the absence of Jack Butland.
Jefte, Ianis Hagi, Vaclav Cerny, Nedim Bajrami and Hamza Igamane are the other players to come into the side.
Leon Balogun has enough fit to return, while Ridvan Yilmaz starts at right-back in place of injured club captain James Tavernier.
Rangers line (4-2-3-1, right to left): Kelly (GK) -Yilmaz, Sterling, Propper, Jefte-Rraskin, Diomande-Cerny, Bajami, Hagi-Igamane
Ranger substitutes: Munn, Cortes, Barron, Dessers, Matondo, Dowell, King, Fraser, Danilo
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Celtic are without long-term absentee Odin Thiago Holm and James Forrest, but Alistair Johnston has recovered from a hip-flexor injury and came through the win over St. Johnstone unscathed.
Daizen Maeda returns to the lineup after his heroics in the Cup final.
Celtic starting lineup (4-3-3, right to left): Schmeichel (GK) — Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor — Bernardo, McGregor, Hatate — Kuhn, Furuhashi, Maeda
Celtic subs: Sinisalo, Trusty, Palma, Idah, Valle, Yang, McGowan, Engels, Ralston
Here is how to watch the match in some of the world’s major regions:
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Joe Wright is a Senior Editor at Sporting News, managing global soccer and the UK team. He was previously a sub editor and writer for Goal.com before spending six years as part of the Stats Perform editorial news service, covering major global sports including football, tennis, boxing, NBA, rugby union and athletics. Joe has extensive experience covering some of the biggest events in football, including two UEFA Champions League finals, Euro 2016, the Confederations Cup 2017 and the 2018 World Cup, which included the final in Moscow.