Rangers stunned Celtic with a dominant win in the Old Firm derby on Jan. 2, lightening coach Philippe Clement’s load somewhat.
Brendan Rodgers’ team did not lose a bachelor party in 2024, but it seemed clearly out of color that its new year opening was opened when they faced 24 shots in a Scottish premire adjusted for the first time.
A 2-1 defeat against St. Mirren and a 2-2 draw with Motherwell at the end of December left the Light Blues 14 in problems with their rival fierce from the city at the top of the table of the Scottish Premiership To this match, and it could be said that the leaders left Take Hold. Complacement, since they produced a lifeless show in front of a defense of the Rangers that lacked three key players and their titular goalkeeper.
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Ianis Hagi’s charming purpose after seven minutes, scored in front of his father looking, the wonderful Hagi Gheorghe of Romania, sent Ibrox to delight, and Vaclav Cerny hit the ribbon with a diverted shot before the quarter of an hour.
Celtic looked slow compared to their hosts, there was a nervous moment just before half-time when Reo Hatate’s shot had to be stored through Liam Kelly, who was just making his moment to start the 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 drop in criteria in the second half: Kyogo Furuhashi’s intelligence outpaced Kyogo Furuhashi’s goal. Being excluded by Offaspect will have reminded some enthusiasts of that sadness at Hampden Park.
However, such considerations ended just after the hour mark. Robin Propper proved to be an unlikely hero, generating from close diversity after Nico Raskin’s headline blocked, and it never looked like Celtic would turn 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 & Highlights | Team News & Lineups
Venue: Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow Referee: Don Robertson
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Starting lines:
Rangers (4-2-3-1, from the left): 31. Liam Kelly (GK) -3. Ridvan Yilmaz, 21. Dujon Sterling, 4. Burbin propper, 22. jefte (47. brbie Fraser) -43. Nicolas Raskin (8. connor Barron), 10. Mohamed diomande – 18. Vaclav Cerny, 14. Nedim Bajami (99. danilo), 30. ianis hagi (7. SCAR Cortés) – 29. HAZZA IGAMAN (9. Cyriel Dessers) )
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) – 28Array Paulo Bernardo (14. Luke McGowan), 42 years old. Callum McGregor, years old. 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 Ultimate League Cup | All time face to face
What a result is this! Rangers hand Celtic their first domestic defeat in more than a year. It’s one of his worst performances of the season from a distance. The name race might be firmly in his hands, but this one will be a sting.
90 3 minutes: Rangers make a trio of substitutions in recent seconds, possibly to give some players applause. Celtic is defeated. In fact, they seem defeated everywhere.
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, it has never faced so many matches.
81 minutes: Objective! Danilo writes with his first touch! Johnston shrugs from the ball through Jefte, who drives on the left and shoots at a low crossing that is blocked through Carter-Vickers. The ball falls very well to update Danilo, who sweeps the house the first time. He is in the box for 70 seconds before this goal!
Watch in USA:
He took the super replacement danilo a minute to locate the background of the networks for the Rangers! ⚡️⏱️ pic. twitter. com/rhnofwzsns
UNITED KINGDOM:
“It’s a declaration victory!” The Rangers have a third against Celtic when Danilo scores seconds after the end!?pic. twitter. com/krwc1jv8ez
78 minutes: big at the break for the Rangers, since Igamane and Bajami have a two against one oppose the carter-vickers, however, the striker’s pass to Bajrami is lost and cut.
75 mins: Rangers have had 23 shots to Celtic’s four so far. Three of those attempts for the league leaders came in the first half; their latest just now saw Maeda’s header blocked by Yilmaz. This has been a seriously off-colour performance.
In fact, it not recorded as a shot. That’s three.
70 minutes: The rangers need handball after Idah blocks Igamane’s shot from a corner but his arm opposes his body. There is no possibility that this happens.
66 minutes: Objective! The Rangers double their lead! From the resulting corner, Raskin’s header is blocked on the line, however, Robin Propper is there to get in the rebound. Celtic are in a big way now!
Look in the United States:
Good spot, time for Rangers’ Robin Pröpper as Ibrox Stadium explodes! ??️ pic. twitter. com/d2ai44T4ZP
UK:
“It’s Happy New Year to Rangers at the moment!” ?Robin Propper makes it 2-0 to Rangers against Celtic!pic.twitter.com/NFUcr8pyLh
65′: Good save by Schmeichel! Cerny is allowed to intervene and shoot with his more powerful left foot, but the Celtic goalkeeper is up to the task. There is a triple replacement for the visitors, with the arrival of Adam Idah, Alex Valle and Luke McCowan.
60 mins: HOW HAS THAT STAYED OUT? Cerny is through on goal and places a low finish past Schmeichel, but it comes back off the inside of the post and bounces all the way along the goal line without going in! The flag had stayed down, although had that been a goal, VAR might have ruled him offside.
57 minutes: penalty for the Rangers after a head of Boss hit Paulo Bernardo’s oscillating arm, but there is no possibility of granted. However, this is an intelligent moment for the local team.
53 mins: KYOGO GOAL — NO! OFFSIDE! It’s a sublime finish as he controls Carter-Vickers’ ball over the top before looping a shot over Kelly and into the net, but VAR confirms he was narrowly offside. That’s a warning for Rangers, though.
50 minutes: Celtic half-time, yet the Rangers have already threatened the counterattack. Another Hagi shot has been awkwardly bounced in front of Schmeichel, yet it approached the ball.
Do not replace on the side.
The Rangers are leading 1-0, and rightly so. They were the team, and Celtic just didn’t participate.
But all those things were also true at halftime of the Ultimate Cup on DicemberArray.
Four5 + four minutes: Smart Suppense, Liam Kelly! The corner falls into water, about 12 meters from the goal. He does well to keep the volleyball half on target, but Kelly is adorning the soft lob. The referee blows during halftime in the middle of a small fight in the box and the noisy cabins in the stands. It’s the old business, after all.
45 3 minutes: The functionality isn’t great, but Taylor can win a corner. Celtic will have some other chance before the break.
45 1 min: Jephthah’s Carless, who throws an arm and catches Nicolas-Gerrit Kuhn in the face. Celtic has a loose kick near the corner flag. Kuhn is actually bleeding and will require a 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 mins: Hagi gets another chance to shoot but is barged over as he strikes the ball, putting him off the attempt. That came from yet another misplaced pass from Reo Hatate, who is enduring a real game to forget at Ibrox.
32 minutes: Johnson catches Hagi’s neck with his arm raised while jumping to finish off. Rangers enthusiasts are furious, but it’s accidental. The VAR takes a look and nods.
27 mins: So far, this game has felt a bit like the earlier part of the cup final. Rangers have looked sharper with and without the ball and, so far, are keeping Celtic’s forwards a long way from goal. But as that day showed, things can change quickly in Old Firm matches…
18 minutes: Excellent Yilmaz paintings while advancing to cut the tired pass to Maeda, it is fast that he turns on and deals with a low shot. He does not have the strength of Hagi and Schmeichel’s effort comfortably save.
13 minutes: Get out of the bar! The rangers temporarily break down after Hatate loses the ball in midfield. Vaclav Cerny intervenes from the right and attempts a shot that takes a wide deflection. and I went to a corner.
7 mins: GOAL! Ibrox errupts! Liam Scales’ pass into midfield is easily cut out and Nico Raskin tees up the ball for Ianis Hagi with a lovely backheel. Hagi has plenty to do from 20 yards out, but he picks out the bottom-right corner after firing through the legs of Cameron Carter-Vickers. Brilliant goal.
Watch in USA:
Ianis Hagi shoots a goal for Rangers!?pic. twitter. com/rluuxzlqty
UK:
Ianis Hagi Rangers, an early lead opposed to Celtic! ?⚡️Pic. twitter. com/weqyvmn4jn
5 minutes: Nedim Bajami tries an internal shot of the Celtic box, but sees his effort beaten to Hamza Igamane. The Rangers responded well to this first pressure. It is an intelligent to start the game.
2 minutes: An early corner for Celtic leads to a small save, with Dujon Sterling coming out from the six-yard box. Nerry for a few moments for the Rangers.
After a minute of silence to honor those affected through the Ibrox disaster, the game begins.
Ten minutes before kick-off: Representatives of the two clubs today paid tribute to those affected by the Ibrox crisis on 2 January 1971, when another sixty-six people were killed and more than two hundred injured in a staircase while others were being seeks to leave the stadium after the 1-1 draw in the company’s previous match.
Representatives of Rangers and Celtic present their respects on the anniversary of the Ibrox disaster. #Bbcfootball pic. twitter. com/sajt7rklve
27 minutes before kick-off: Clément is convinced that Kelly and Nico Raskin will perform at their best in the absence of key personalities such as Butland and Tavernier.
“It’s a first in this players’ organisation,” he told Sky Sports. “Some guys aren’t very smart this way. Nico Raskin really grows in this role and you want several leaders on the ground.
“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 kick-off: Team news is available. Goalkeeper Liam Kelly is making just his time starting for Rangers as part of six changes to the starting line-up. It seems that Ridvan Yilmaz will line up on the right. Back in position for the injured captain James Tavernier. Celtic started Daizen Maeda, while Alistair Johnston continued as expected.
1 hour 45 mins before kickoff: Talk has already turned towards the prospect of Celtic enjoying another invincible season. The Hoops have lost only one domestic match since December 2023, and their only defeat of 2024/25 in any competition came in that 7-1 thrashing by Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League.
‘I know what it’s like to win this game’ Brendan Rodgers is looking forward to Celtic’s big clash with Rangers at Ibrox ?️ Stadium Pic. twitter. com/94xonvy6ax
2-hour kick-off: This will be the 444th Old Firma Derby and the first of 2025. Damn, how the Rangers would like to tie this all-time together.
? | @Danilopereira9 pic. twitter. com/e86daprwfs
The adjustment will begin in Glasgow, Scotland at 3 p. m. Local time.
This is how this era for some of the main territories:
Clement makes six changes to the lineup, including just a second start 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-Raskin, Diomande-Cerny, Bajrami, Hagi-Igamane
Rangers subs: Munn, Cortes, Barron, Dessers, Matondo, Dowell, King, Fraser, Danilo
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The Celts are long-term absent Odin Thiago Holm and James Forrest, but Alistair Johnston recovered from a hip flexor injury and emerged unscathed in the win over St. Johns. Johnstone.
Daizen Maeda returns to the 11 after his exploits 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
Subs Celts: Sinisalo, Trusty, Palma, Idah, Valle, Yang, McGowan, Engels, Ralston
Here’s how to watch the game in some of the world’s top regions:
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Joe Wright is editor in Chief of Sporting News, where he manages world football and British team. In the past he was editor and editor of Goal. com before spending six years at the Stats Perform news editorial service, covering world news. Main sports, in addition to football, tennis, boxing, NBA, rugby and athletics. Joe has extensive experience covering some of the most important football events, including two UEFA Champions League, the 2016 Euro and the 2017 Confederations Cup. And the 2018 World Cup, adding the last one in Moscow.