Ewan Murray was at Celtic Park. Here’s his report. Thanks for reading this MBM.
Philippe Clement’s turn. “We didn’t start well enough … not good enough … giving away too many shots … not enough defensive duels won … we started to play after 2-0 … then we do good things … a few good crosses … then of course taking a red card makes things ten times more complicated … after the red card my team kept on fighting … something can fall out of the sky … more frustrating is the red card … it kills off our plan for the second half … it is totally unnecessary to make the tackle … will be the first one to know … it is a split-second wrong decision but I do not forget all the things he did well in the last couple of months … the team need to show the mentality they showed for the last 70 minutes … the first 20 was not good enough … they need to show it for 90 … in the next two games and the cup final it is important to show a reaction.”
He also reports that John Souttar was indeed injured. They don’t know to what extent yet.
Brendan Rodgers speaks to Sky. “It is very significant … we’re nearly there … three points and another goal to the goal difference … a fantastic win … right up until the penalty we were very good … the energy, the speed was outstanding … it’s a brilliant day … Celtic supporters all around the world in bars and houses, they understand Celtic-Rangers is all about winning … the guys showed a great mentality … three victories against Rangers in four games … the crispness and quality of football was very good … great courage … it’s there for us now, we’ve got to go on and win it.”
Rodgers also reports that Alistair Johnston was replaced as “a consequence of the [Lundstram] tackle … but hopefully he’ll be alright.”
Player of the match Matt O’Riley gets into trouble on Sky. “It was very important … two games left, six points clear … we made it a little bit hard for ourselves again … I probably helped with that with a pretty shit penalty.”
Upon receiving the usual finger-wagging, pearl-clutching admonishment from the broadcaster, he talks through that missed spot kick. “I practised it yesterday … I was in two minds … more to learn from … I won’t do that again … I waited for him to move and he stayed for quite a long time … I probably needed to have slightly bigger balls.”
Magnificently undeterred.
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Celtic are all but home and hosed. Parkhead is in party mode, safe in the knowledge that they only need one point from their remaining fixtures against Kilmarnock and St Mirren. Brendan Rodgers wears the smile of a man vindicated. Philippe Clement by contrast has the drained look of a man whose side came up short along the final stretch. Rangers can take some solace in the fact they challenged for the title at all, given the way the season started under Michael Beale … and hey, there’s always the cup final.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Celtic | 36 | 59 | 87 |
| 2 | Rangers | 36 | 52 | 81 |
| 3 | Hearts | 35 | 9 | 63 |
| 4 | Kilmarnock | 35 | 6 | 52 |
| 5 | St Mirren | 35 | -4 | 46 |
Parkhead erupts in a mixture of joy and relief! Dominant Celtic should have secured the three points easily against ten-man Rangers, but missed chance after chance in the second half – including a penalty – to keep the visitors’ hope of an unlikely season-saving point alive. But they held on and now it’s time to party, the title all but theirs! In fairness, anything other than a Celtic win would have been a travesty on the balance of play, though fair play to Rangers for their staunch refusal to buckle, and for making a game of it during the last knockings. John Lundstram has a few apologies to make to his team-mates.
FULL TIME: Celtic 2-1 Rangers
Celtic hold on, and despite making hard work of it against ten-man Rangers, the league is all but secured! Just one more point required for a 54th Scottish title.
90 min +6: A throw deep in Celtic territory. McCausland and Tavernier take an age over it, then over-elaborate, and the chance to launch the ball into the mixer is gone.
90 min +5: McCausland dribbles down the right and crosses low. Taylor clears. All credit to ten-man Rangers for somehow staying in this match.
90 min +3: Carter-Vickers clears the corner. Butland was in the mix and competing for the ball, as well! Celtic counter. Idah makes his way down the inside-left channel only to drag a shot across Butland, who has returned to his station, and wide right.
90 min +2: Yilmaz shoots from distance. The ball’s deflected wide right for a corner. That Rangers are still in this is astonishing. Up comes Butland!
90 min +1: McCausland finds some space down the right. His low cross is scooped away by Scales. Rangers giving this a real go!
90 min: There will be seven additional minutes.
89 min: McGregor comes sliding in on Diomande. Just a free kick, but he wants to be careful, Celtic’s captain already on a booking. Soon after play resumes, Kuhn loops a cross in from the right. Maeda slots but he’s clearly offside. Up pops the flag. Somehow, Rangers are still in with a shout!
88 min: Maeda zips down the left and wins a corner. Nothing comes of it, but Celtic nudge closer to the finishing line.
86 min: O’Riley crosses from the right. Idah attempts to force home from close range but once again Butland emerges victorious.
85 min: During the last ten minutes, 48 percent of the match has been played out in Celtic’s final third. Idah tries to tip the balance back in the home team’s favour with a dribble down the right, but he neither crosses nor shoots, and the resulting corner is a waste of everyone’s time.
84 min: Roofe comes on for an understandably knackered Dessers, who has put in a thankless shift today.
83 min: Ralston whips a low cross in from the right. Idah should bundle home at the near post but doesn’t connect properly and Butland gathers. Celtic should be home and hosed but this isn’t over quite yet.
81 min: Celtic are getting a little bit careless here. Another chance for Rangers to send a ball into their box, from a free kick on the halfway line. Davies launches it long. … but nothing comes of it. A few nerves among the Parkhead faithful.
80 min: Iwata comes on for Hatate.
79 min: Before the corner is taken, Tavernier gives the referee a couple of bawbees generously flung at him by the Celtic faithful. Nothing comes of the set piece when it’s eventually taken.
78 min: A corner on the right leads to another on the left. Tavernier to take.
77 min: Scales finds Maeda down the left with a diagonal rake. Maeda crosses low and forces Sterling into slapping the ball behind for a corner. From which … Wright tears upfield on the counter and nearly gets the better of McGregor down the right. He settles for a corner. A rare opportunity for Rangers.
75 min: Idah gets overly physical at the corner and the pressure on Rangers is released. For now.
74 min: Johnston can’t continue. He limps off to be replaced by Ralston. Meanwhile Silva, who has played well, a rare plus point for Rangers today, is hooked for Wright.
73 min: Kuhn dribbles into the Rangers box in the Jinky style. A baroque run comes to an end with a shot that’s deflected over the bar for a corner. Before it can be taken, Johnston requires some treatment.
72 min: Celtic make a double change, replacing Kyogo and the excellent Forrest with Idah and Kuhn.
71 min: McGregor is booked for a tug on Raskin, who was threatening to break into the Celtic half. “O’Riley looks like a seriously good player,” opines Simon McMahon. “I think he cost something like £1.5m from MK Dons? A strong case to be made that he could be Celtic’s best-value signing since Larsson.”
69 min: Dessers drives hard down the right. He’s got nobody up with him, but holds it up well. Eventually a couple of blue shirts arrive and the ball’s pumped into the box. It loops into the air and drops towards McCausland, just inside the area. McCausland should buy a ticket for the raffle and volley goalwards, but elects to take a touch instead. That touch is heavy, and the chance is gone.
67 min: Tavernier tries to find Dessers with a long rake. Easily intercepted. The ball keeps coming back at Rangers. There’s no out. Exactly 50 percent of this second half has been played out in Rangers’ final third.
65 min: O’Riley threads a glorious pass down the right channel for Johnston, who can’t find anyone with his cross. Did the ball take a nick off Sterling’s hand? Possibly, but his arm was hanging by his side and you can’t be giving penalty kicks for that.
63 min: Kyogo spins Davies in the dad-on-son-in-park fashion, but just as he threatens to tear clear down the inside-right channel, Sterling comes across to block. That initial trick was way too easy.
61 min: A double change for Rangers, as Raskin and Yilmaz replace Lawrence and Barisic.
60 min: It really is. Forrest shoots from distance. Some pinball in a crowded box. The ball drops to Maeda, who calmly slots past Butland from ten yards. But the flag goes up correctly for offside. Closer and closer.
59 min: McGregor sends a forensic shot towards the bottom right. Butland needs two attempts to gather, but gather he does. Third goal’s a-comin’.
58 min: Forrest makes a nuisance of himself down the right. Johnston is fed on the overlap. He can’t decide whether to shoot or cross, and achieves neither. Rangers bundle the ball clear.
57 min: … and yet it still feels just a matter of time before Celtic get their third and put this out of Rangers’ reach once and for all. The visitors can hardly get a sniff and they’re being pulled about mercilessly.
55 min: O’Riley, who has been forced to wait and wait, sends an overly casual penalty towards the bottom right … and it’s easily parried clear by Butland! Rangers holding on by their fingertips!
54 min: Nope! Willie Collum sticks by his decision! It’s a penalty.
53 min: The argument here is that O’Riley has instigated the contact with Diomande, and not the other way around. But is any error clear and obvious?
52 min: A long check by VAR before it can be taken. Eventually the referee is called over to the monitor. Has there been enough contact?
Penalty for Celtic
51 min: O’Riley cuts in from the right. There’s light contact from Diomande from behind. O’Riley goes down easily, and theatrically, but it’s a penalty nonetheless!
50 min: Forrest is in the clear on the right for what seems like an age. Eventually he gets the ball and tees up McGregor, whose shot is blocked. Never mind, because Celtic come again, and …
49 min: Hatate takes a whack from distance. Davies deflects it wide for a corner. Butland punches the set piece clear. This could be a long second half for Rangers.
48 min: Reports of Souttar’s injury were erroneous; it’s a tactical change.
47 min: It’s already an attack-versus-defence drill. Rangers sitting deep, Celtic probing hither and yon. O’Riley reaches the edge of the D and drags another shot wide right.
Celtic get the second half started. Rangers have lost Souttar to injury; McCausland replaces him, with Sterling moving back into defence. Incidentally, during the break, Sky pundits Neil Lennon and Kris Boyd chorused that Lundstram’s ludicrous challenge was a red card “♫♪ all day looooooonng ♫♪”, Lennon adding that “If I’m Philippe Clement I’m absolutely raging.”
Half-time entertainment. For your retro-rammy pleasure.
HALF TIME: Celtic 2-1 Rangers
Celtic Park was en fête after that second goal. The home fans suddenly got pensive after Rangers pulled one back, but Lundstram’s hysterical slide-tackle and subsequent red card has put Parkhead in party mode again. The title is all but secured for Celtic, unless something very strange happens in the second half.
45 min +3: Hatate is booked for a pointless lunge into the back of Sterling.
RED CARD: Lundstram (Rangers)
An own goal and now a red card for a needless studs-up challenge. Johnston was going nowhere. What a performance.
Updated
45 min +1: The referee is heading to the monitor. Studs on leg. Out of control. It’ll surely be a red card.
45 min: Lundstram comes sliding in recklessly on Johnston. It’s hard and not particularly fair. He doesn’t get the ball, and is booked. VAR may have something to say about this, because it’s studs on shin. This could be a red.
44 min: Hatate wafts a speculative shot wide left from distance. Nothing to worry Butland.
43 min: Silva and Lundstram combine to win a corner down the left. Tavernier hits it long. Diomande wins a header at the far post but can only send it wide right. VAR has a quick check as Taylor had a hold of his shirt, but there’s nothing doing there.
41 min: That goal came 33 seconds after the restart. Dessers had done nothing up until that point, but now look!
GOAL! Celtic 2-1 Rangers (Dessers 40)
Silva drives down the left. He feeds Barisic on the overlap. Barisic stands one up to the back post, where Sterling wins a header. Dessers flicks it on, and Rangers aren’t quite out of this yet!
Updated
39 min: Maeda is booked for overly enthusiastic celebration.
GOAL! Celtic 2-0 Rangers (Lundstram og 38)
Quick as a flash, Rangers’ title hopes are jiggered! Carter-Vickers sprays a glorious diagonal pass towards Maeda on the left. Maeda reaches the byline and cuts back, hoping to find Kyogo. No need, because Lundstram arrives and sticks out a leg to intercept, only to deflect the ball into the bottom right! Butland rooted to the spot!
Updated
37 min: That’s a real blow to Rangers’ title hopes. For obvious reasons, but also because the team that’s opened the scoring in the last 103 Old Firm derbies has only gone on to lose five times. And Rangers need a win today.
GOAL! Celtic 1-0 Rangers (O'Riley 35)
McGregor barges down the right and checks back, passing infield for O’Riley, who takes a touch to the left before rifling a low drive into the bottom right. Butland no chance! Parkhead erupts! The title is on!
Updated
34 min: Tavernier goes long in the hope of finding the near-invisible Dessers, but Carter-Vickers is all over the situation. Rangers can’t get their striker into the game at all.
33 min: That was the first save Butland has had to make since keeping out his own man Souttar in the first minute. Celtic have had plenty of attempts, but not on target.
31 min: Celtic continue to dominate possession. Suddenly they turn up the pace, O’Riley rolling in from the right and finding Kyogo, who spins on the penalty spot and lashes a shot goalwards. Straight at Butland, who nevertheless saves well. Kyogo shouldn’t have given him the chance to do so, mind.
29 min: The smallest of opportunities for Lawrence to shift the ball and send a shot towards the top right. He thinks about it too long and Celtic shut the door.
28 min: The corner makes it all the way to the far stick, but nobody in blue can get close to poke home. Celtic eventually clear, but the hosts didn’t look totally comfortable.
27 min: Rangers stroke it around confidently for a while, probing down both flanks. Souttar suddenly goes long, forcing Johnston to head behind under pressure from Silva. Tavernier to launch it in.
25 min: Maeda drives down the left and pulls the ball back for Hatate, who tees up O’Riley on the edge of the D. O’Riley has to work the keeper, but drags his shot wide right. That was a very presentable chance.
23 min: Forrest jinks in from the right and slips a ball down the channel for Johnston, who wins a corner off Davies. Souttar clears the set piece decisively.
21 min: Then again, the same can be said for McGregor, who has another look from distance. Wide and high. It feels like a goal is coming sooner rather than later.
20 min: Sterling crosses long from the right. At the far post, Silva gets in ahead of Johnston and eyebrows the ball wide left from six yards. He should have scored. Somewhere in a parallel universe, for all Celtic’s territorial dominance, Silva has already two goals to his name.
19 min: McGregor takes matters into his own hands by driving down the middle and wheeching a low drive wide right of goal. Butland had it covered.
18 min: All a bit scrappy now. Rangers doing well to disrupt Celtic’s natural rhythms.
Updated
16 min: Tavernier throws in long from the right. Straight to Hart with nobody in blue anywhere near. The home crowd much amused.
15 min: Barisic barrels down the left and reaches the byline. He can’t find anyone in the middle, but Celtic fail to clear properly, and Davies makes a challenge that deflects the ball down the left flank to Silva, who enters the box and screeches a low shot across Hart and wide right. That was a decent chance and Silva should have hit the target at the very least.
13 min: A free kick for Rangers in the Celtic half. Tavernier hoicks it into the mixer, but it’s mopped up easily by O’Riley. The ball then pings off Souttar’s arm and the pressure, such as it is, is released.
11 min: Diomande clips McGregor as the pair contest a 50-50 in the middle of the park. McGregor, along with 59,999 other voices, demands a booking for the Rangers midfielder. His wishes are not met, but that might be the last free one for Diomande.
9 min: O’Riley gets the free kick up and over the Rangers wall, but sends the ball inches wide of the top-right corner. Had that been on target, Butland might not have reached it. “I always look forward to these games,” writes Simon McMahon. “As a disinterested and slightly bemused onlooker, of course. Neutral, you might say. One way or another, it’ll be ‘fun’.”
8 min: Diomande clumsily barges into the back of Hatate, just outside the Rangers D, slightly right of centre. It’s a free kick in a very dangerous position.
7 min: Forrest looks well up for this. He whizzes in from the right and has another dig from distance. It’s probably going over but Butland isn’t going to risk it, and tips over the bar. Nothing comes of the resulting corner. This is a lively and entertaining start to the game.
5 min: Rangers wake up quicksmart! Silva makes good down the left and crosses long. Sterling meets the ball at the far stick, but his downward header doesn’t have the pace to trouble the goal. Scales clears with Dessers lurking.
4 min: A throw from the Celtic right. Forrest is afforded all sorts of space on the right-hand edge of the Rangers box, and he meets the throw by lashing a shot over the bar. Rangers need to wake up quicksmart.
3 min: Butland shanks a clearance straight out of play. Rangers look a little nervy during these early exchanges.
2 min: Rangers clear their lines, but my oh my, that was so nearly another lightning-fast start in the Old Firm derby for Celtic.
58 sec: Souttar again, and this time he nearly scores an own goal! Forrest drives down the inside-right channel and crosses towards the near post. Souttar knees the ball towards the bottom right. Butland spares his blushes by parrying the friendly fire from close range.
18 sec: The first foul of the afternoon as Souttar sticks his arm across Kyogo’s chops.
Rangers get the ball rolling. You’ll Never Walk Alone still ringing around the grand old stadium.
The teams are out! A 60,000-strong crowd of Celtic fans – no away supporters - greet the players. We’ll be off in a minute!
Updated
Philippe Clement speaks to Sky. “A big one … it’s a massive game … it’s why you love this job … when you are a small boy you want to be engaged in things like this … we were really close [in the 3-3 at Ibrox] … every player is ready to do the job and work really hard … it’s a massive opportunity … everyone would have signed to be in this position at the start of the season or three months ago … we are going to go full to make the dream work.”
Brendan Rodgers talks to Sky Sports. “We just play our game … they are special games but focus on our football … don’t slow down … keep the pressure … keep the intensity … we know how to win the games … it all goes out the window, what’s happened in the past … we look forward and want to perform today.”
Rangers don’t mathematically need to win this afternoon … but let’s face it, they kind of do. Even if Philippe Clement’s team take all three points from Parkhead, they’ll most likely still have an inferior goal difference to Celtic with just two games remaining. Having said that, Celtic’s next match is at Kilmarnock, where they’ve already lost twice this season, both in the Premiership and League Cup. So even if Celtic avoid defeat here, nothing gets decided today†.
†: It kind of does.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Celtic | 35 | 58 | 84 |
| 2 | Rangers | 35 | 53 | 81 |
| 3 | Hearts | 35 | 9 | 63 |
| 4 | Kilmarnock | 35 | 6 | 52 |
| 5 | St Mirren | 35 | -4 | 46 |
Updated
If This Match Is Half As Good … dept. A quick reminder of how things panned out when the teams last met.
Celtic make one change to the XI that started the 3-0 win over Heart of Midlothian. Daizen Maeda comes in for Nicolas Kühn, who drops to the bench.
Rangers make two changes after their 4-1 victory over Kilmarnock. One is enforced: Ben Davies replaces the injured Leon Balogun in defence, while Tom Lawrence takes the place of Todd Cantwell, who drops to the bench.
The teams
Celtic: Hart, Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor, O’Riley, McGregor, Hatate, Forrest, Furuhashi, Maeda.
Subs: Palma, Idah, Kuhn, Nawrocki, Iwata, Bernardo, Bain, Ralston, Welsh.
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Davies, Souttar, Barisic, Diomande, Lundstram, Sterling, Lawrence, Silva, Dessers.
Subs: Yilmaz, Cantwell, Dowell, Wright, Roofe, McCrorie, King, Raskin, McCausland.
Referee: Willie Collum.
Your #CelticFC Team News for today's Glasgow Derby 🟢⚪️ #CELRAN | #cinchPrem | #COYBIG🍀 pic.twitter.com/fA9umEE4zt
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) May 11, 2024
🆕 Today’s #RangersFC team to face Celtic.
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) May 11, 2024
🗒️ Full Team News: https://t.co/FQ7RWxnUhc pic.twitter.com/jXIfgb1unS
Updated
Preamble
Bhoys meet Gers in the world series of love. Kick-off is at 12.30pm BST.
