Brendan Rodgers answered early questions surrounding his second Celtic tenure by delivering a statement Old Firm Scottish Premiership win over Rangers in a controversial derby.
Kyogo Furuhashi provided the decisive moment again, capitalising on more slack defending by the home defence just before the break at Ibrox to ruthlessly lash in his sixth goal in five starts in the fixture.
But the Japan forward’s strike came after Rabbi Matondo had an offside effort disallowed inside the first minute, before Kemar Roofe had another chopped off for Cyriel Dessers’ contentious foul on Gustaf Lagerbielke.
The Celtic centre-back appeared to kick through the back of the Rangers striker while being dispossessed, but referee Don Robertson opted to rule the goal out after an on-field VAR review.
Michael Beale stressed the importance to “lay down a marker” pre-match following Wednesday’s Champions League humiliation in Eindhoven, but instead more pressure will now build on the Ibrox boss, who has just one win from six derbies.
Celtic, whose depleted defence consisted of centre-back pairing of Lagerbielke and Liam Scales making their Old Firm debuts, just about held firm after the interval with the help of Joe Hart to move Rodgers’ men top by two points and four clear of their rivals.
More to follow.
Line-ups
Rangers
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Butland
- 2Tavernier
- 6Goldson
- 5Souttar
- 21SterlingSubstituted forYilmazat 65′minutes
- 43Raskin
- 8JackSubstituted forLawrenceat 76′minutes
- 13CantwellBooked at 73mins
- 25RoofeSubstituted forPereira da Silvaat 64′minutes
- 9DessersSubstituted forSimaat 76′minutes
- 17MatondoSubstituted forLammersat 64′minutes
Substitutes
- 3Yilmaz
- 4Lundstram
- 11Lawrence
- 14Lammers
- 15Cifuentes
- 19Sima
- 26Davies
- 28McCrorie
- 99Pereira da Silva
Celtic
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Hart
- 2JohnstonSubstituted forRalstonat 65′minutes
- 4Lagerbielke
- 5ScalesBooked at 78mins
- 3TaylorSubstituted forBernabéiat 74′minutes
- 33O’Riley
- 42McGregor
- 14TurnbullSubstituted forHolmat 66′minutes
- 11AbadaSubstituted forYangat 66′minutes
- 8FuruhashiSubstituted forOhat 76′minutes
- 38Maeda
Substitutes
- 7Palma
- 13Yang
- 15Holm
- 18Kobayashi
- 19Oh
- 22Kwon
- 25Bernabéi
- 29Bain
- 56Ralston
Live Text
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Match ends, Rangers 0, Celtic 1.
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Second Half ends, Rangers 0, Celtic 1.
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Foul by Matt O’Riley (Celtic).
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Tom Lawrence (Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Anthony Ralston (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Tom Lawrence (Rangers).
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Attempt missed. Todd Cantwell (Rangers) header from the centre of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Abdallah Sima with a cross.
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Attempt blocked. Sam Lammers (Rangers) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Todd Cantwell.
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Daizen Maeda (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Connor Goldson (Rangers).
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Foul by Oh Hyeon-Gyu (Celtic).
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Connor Goldson (Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Attempt saved. Todd Cantwell (Rangers) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Ridvan Yilmaz.
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Callum McGregor (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Tom Lawrence (Rangers).
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Attempt missed. Sam Lammers (Rangers) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Ridvan Yilmaz with a cross.
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Attempt saved. Daizen Maeda (Celtic) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
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Oh Hyeon-Gyu (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Tom Lawrence (Rangers).
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Attempt saved. Danilo (Rangers) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Abdallah Sima with a cross.
How to play
Rate players out of 10 throughout or after the game. The rater will close 30 minutes after the final whistle.
Rating range key = Give it up = Pure perfection
Rangers
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Squad number1Player nameButland
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Squad number2Player nameTavernier
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Squad number6Player nameGoldson
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Squad number5Player nameSouttar
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Squad number21Player nameSterling
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Squad number43Player nameRaskin
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Squad number8Player nameJack
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Squad number13Player nameCantwell
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Squad number25Player nameRoofe
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Squad number9Player nameDessers
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Squad number17Player nameMatondo
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Squad number3Player nameYilmaz
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Squad number11Player nameLawrence
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Squad number14Player nameLammers
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Squad number19Player nameSima
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Squad number99Player nameDanilo
Celtic
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Squad number1Player nameHart
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Squad number2Player nameJohnston
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Squad number4Player nameLagerbielke
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Squad number5Player nameScales
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Squad number3Player nameTaylor
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Squad number33Player nameO’Riley
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Squad number42Player nameMcGregor
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Squad number14Player nameTurnbull
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Squad number11Player nameAbada
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Squad number8Player nameFuruhashi
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Squad number38Player nameMaeda
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Squad number13Player nameYang Hyun-Jun
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Squad number15Player nameHolm
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Squad number19Player nameOh Hyeon-Gyu
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Squad number25Player nameBernabéi
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Squad number56Player nameRalston