We shall leave you with Ewan Murray’s match report from Ibrox, as the pressure on Michael Beale cranks up a notch after two defeats in five days.
Thanks for tuning in. Until next time!
Man Of The Match Liam Scales reflects on Celtic’s win, speaking to Sky Sports:
It’s hard to come here. We felt we dominated the first half, had most of the ball, but you’re not going to dominate the whole game so we showed a lot of character. We’ve done well but there’s a lot of improvement to come.
On the VAR incident:
Always a foul, always a foul.
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This is the VAR incident that Rangers will fume about.
🗣️ "It's an absolutely shocking decision!"
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) September 3, 2023
🗣️ "It looks like he's kicked the back of his calf... For me, it's a foul!"
Neil Lennon, James McFadden and Kris Boyd discuss Rangers' disallowed goal. Watch the second-half action live next on Sky Sports 📺👇 pic.twitter.com/V8vMMNhQc2
There is palpable anger in the Ibrox stands, as players apologetically troop around and applaud their supporters. Beale may argue Rangers did enough to avoid defeat today – that disallowed Kemar Roofe goal will be a talking point.
But Celtic put in a controlled, if not spectacular, performance. Callum McGregor was masterful in defensive midfield, while Liam Scales answered some of his critics with a stellar defensive display. Kyogo was clinical up front and Daizen Maeda was a menace throughout.
Full time: Rangers 0-1 Celtic
A dispiriting week for Rangers ends in ignominous fashion, with a home defeat by the old enemy, the full time whistle of which is greeted by loud boos by the Ibrox faithful. Kyogo Furuhashi’s volleyed effort in first half stoppage time is enough for Celtic to claim the derby day bragging rights, bringing a gleaming smile to the face of Brendan Rodgers in the visitors’ technical area.
As for Michael Beale, he might find himself coming in for major criticism, with Rangers having now failed to win five of the nine matches they’ve played in all competitions this season.
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95 min Maeda’s cross from the left makes a beeline for the opposite touchline, no contact from anyone. Down the other end, Sima chips a cross onto Cantwell’s forehead, but the target is not troubled with that header from more than 12 yards out.
93 min Cantwell chance. Volleyed, without power, straight down Hart’s throat. A shinner.
92 min Fury from the stands greets every broken-down Rangers attack. Desperation engulfs the 11 players in blue shirts. McGregor engages in some dark arts mastery by staying down and milking some contact or other. Can Celtic see themselves home?
Seven more minutes, ladies and gentlemen.
89 min Yang twists the blood of Yilmaz and then asks politely for a Celtic penalty … actually think he tripped himself up. VAR gives it a cursory glance and moves on.
87 min Rangers have huffed and puffed, they’ve had chances, but in truth Celtic have never looked in huge danger of conceding.
Suspect we might get a whole heap of stoppage time to put that precarious theory to the test. Lammers nods well wide.
84 min Delightful from Danilo, taking Goldson’s ball under his spell and getting a shot away. Seconds later and he gets another opportunity, darting towards the near post and directing it goalwards, with Hart up to the task on both occasions.
Time is ticking.
83 min Cantwell needs a moment to get some treatment after that. Slightly bizarrely, both managers have used up their allocation of substitutes, so he can’t be replaced.
82 min Cantwell theatrically demands a penalty after a shoulder-to-shoulder with Maeda in the box. Referee Don Robertson isn’t interested.
80 min The Rangers’ fans are getting restless as we enter the final 10 minutes. Their side have been underwhelming in this second half, with Celtic seemingly here for the taking.
78 min Liam Scales is the second man into the book. Cantwell has been really loose with his passing ever since I praised him a few minutes ago. Classic.
77 min Tom Lawrence and Abdallah Sima have been ushered on to add to Rangers’ attacking options. It’s now or never for Beale’s boys if they want to avoid an utterly miserable week.
75 min Huge miss from substitute Sam Lammers! He tries to round Hart but gets the ball stuck under his feet and can only find the side-netting. That’s a massive, massive moment for Rangers. They might not get many more.
It’s taken 73 minutes for us to get a booking in this Old Firm derby. Cantwell booked for wiping out the counter-attacking Maeda.
Bernabei is on for Greg Taylor, by the way.
72 mins Appeals for a possible Celtic handball … actually, it’s just a few hopeful fans appealing, rather than Ryan Jack, whose shot was blocked, or any Rangers players. Set-piece after set-piece raining into the Bhoys’ box now.
70 min Everything good that Rangers have done has come through Todd Cantwell. It’s more intricate this time, with Dessers involved, and Danilo tries to pass into the corner from all of 20 yards – which wasn’t ever going to work. Harmessly wide. Rangers continue to push.
68 min Great stop by Butland! He was initially wrong-footed by the rasping drive that came in from Odin Holm. The Rangers keeper has been good today.
67 min Decent header from Goldson, peeling away towards the back post and getting good contact to meet a Tavernier corner, but it’s safely over Hart’s bar.
65 min Celtic have also made a trio of subs, with Johnston, Turnbull and Abada taken off in favour of Holm, Yang and Ralston.
64 min The home crowd are raking up the volume, despite a disappointing Tavernier corner and a Sterling cross that evades absolutely everybody.
Matondo and Roofe are being replaced by Sam Lammers and Danilo. Loud boos for Beale’s decision to remove Roofe. Hmmm. Dujon Sterling is also being replaced, with Ridvan Yilmaz slotting in at left-back.
Wide from Tav. No bother for Hart, really.
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60 min Matondo is fouled in *Tavernier Range*. Rangers look the more likely here.
59 min Kyogo on the break, Kyogo on the break, danger, danger. He opts to chop back, stick the defender on his backside, but the left-footed shot is all sorts of poor.
It’s a ding-dong battle now, with Matondo dancing in front of defenders in the opposite box. Blocked. Don’t take your eyes off this, now.
57 min Ibrox is up in arms as Dessers is penalised for a perceived push on Johnston in the Celtic box. He’d been played through by Cantwell, but the ball got quickly away from the striker and he was left scrambling.
55 min Rangers’ frustrations linger on, after Cantwell explores a pocket of space but is flagged offside.
Not long after, he unfurls a snapshot from 25 yards after a set-piece clearance drops to his feet. Miles over.
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53 min I’m convinced this is Callum McGregor’s world and we’re all merely non-player characters on its periphery. He’s been imperious in deep-lying midfield.
50 min How on earth has that stayed out? It was so poor from Goldson, hitting a tame clearance, to allow Abada to unleash a fine cut-back that Maeda would have tapped home – had it not been for a vital Butland intervention.
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48 min Have Rangers reverted to Beale’s favoured diamond here, despite opting against making half time changes? Roofe seems a little deeper and more central than he was. We’ll see how that plays out.
47 min Dessers dwells on the ball in the centre cirlce and risks getting sacked by the Celtic press; he’s fortunate that Robertson saw it as a foul, as the ball was lost and the visitors were starting to flood forward.
Second half time, let’s go.
A long ball, a ricochet, a header over the top – and then a thunderous Kyogo finish.
🍀 "What a finish this is from Kyogo! A devastating finish!"
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) September 3, 2023
Celtic take a dramatic first-half lead at Ibrox! Analysis from the opening 45 is next on Sky Sports 📺 pic.twitter.com/bcmGVo5hCz
I’m off for a quick brew, while Jeremy Boyce emails in:
It doesn’t seem that long ago that people were talking about a UK Super League with the Firm joining the big 18/20 Sassenachs. Obviously fortunes have changed for both leagues since then and all that talk may as well never have happened. You even wonder how ‘well’ they might fare in the Championship ?
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Half time: Rangers 0-1 Celtic
Kyogo Furuhashi finally found his finish boots at the end of the first half. His cleanly-hit volley has stunned Ibrox into silence after 45 minutes of harum-scarum Old Firm action.
Rangers’ Kemar Roofe had an effort chalked off for a foul in the build-up, but in reality Celtic are decent value for this lead. Kyogo spurned two easier chances earlier in the half and Michael Beale’s side have relied on balls over the top, rather than playing through the green and white hooped shirts. The home side have some thinking to do.
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GOAL! Rangers 0-1 Celtic (Kyogo 47)
Roofe meets Tavernier’s back-post corner and heads downwards, but it bounces over and without sufficient power to concern Hart’s goal. Oh and then Kyogo fires home following a long ball over the top! Wow, what a goal, from nothing!
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Two added first half minutes. It’s been all hustle and bustle so far, without the rustle of either net.
43 min A half chance for Matondo. Hart enters no-man’s land, way off his line following a melee, and Matondo tries to curl it over and in with his left foot. It was way off target, in truth.
That was Rangers’ first legal shot of the game.
41 min Alistair Johnston does enough to stop Matondo working up a head of steam down the Gers’ left, but moments later the Welshman finds himself in an even more promising position and squanders the crossing chance.
39 min Nice stuff from Celtic through midfield. One touch, turn, two touches, triangle, turn. But all in front of Rangers at the moment, with the hosts continuing to prefer the more direct approach up and over the Bhoys’ back line.
37 min Cantwell catches Greg Taylor enjoying an early afternoon nap, sleeping on the ball in his own box, but the former Norwich man can only find the gloves of Hart with a cute cross.
35 min Maeda and Tavernier get in a right tangle, following a meaty challenge from the Celtic left-winger.
33 min Hart does enough to put off Dessers, who steams beyond the Celtic back four once again but throws a half-hearted toe poke towards the ball; it hits Hart and the Shrewsbury lad steers it away.
32 min So, Celtic have enjoyed the better of this contest, been largely the more impressive side, yet Rangers have had the ball in the net twice … and the game remains goalless. Make it make sense!
30 min NO GOAL. A marginal but also completely understandable call for me. But as soon as Mr Robertson went over to his monitor, you knew that wasn’t going to count. It’s still 0-0.
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Lagerkielke got knocked off the ball by Dessers – and we’re having a VAR check to review that particular incident in the run up to the goal. It might not count …
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Against the run of play, Rangers have scored! Kemar Roofe with an emphatic finish to knock the roof off Ibrox. Poor from Celtic at the back.
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27 min Celtic are on top. Yes, Matondo had the ball in the net in the opening minute, but since then two gilt-edged chances have fallen the way of Kyogo Furuhashi, He’s spurned both.
25 min Kyogo should score, surely! Again, Celtic get some joy down the right and the Japanese forward opts to arrow it towards the near post rather than square to Maeda – and Goldson gets back with a sliding block. The visitors are really pushing now.
22 min Cantwell is doing his bit defensively too, intercepting to stymie the Maeda and Taylor combination down Celtic’s left.
21 min It is a more genuine 4-3-3 from Rangers today, rather than the 4-3-1-2 diamondy thing that Beale has hitherto favoured this season. Cantwell is the furthest forward of the midfield three; he tries to feed Dessers this time, who stretches but would have been offside even if contact had been applied.
18 min Looking back at that chance, Kyogo tried the fancy flick when a straightforward passed finish would have achieved more contact, without doubt. Super ball from McGregor to release Abada. The Celtic captain has been redoubtable so far.
16 min Great moment for Celtic. But nobody is there to convert a fine low cross from Liel Abada, with Kyogo failing to untangle his feet in time to apply the finish. The Bhoys are having their best spell now.
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13 min Joe Hart dives on top of the ball in typically melodramatic fashion. Can’t think why Pep didn’t fancy him at Man City all those years ago.
At the other end, Maeda dips a shoulder and draws a half-leg of contact from Tavernier. He didn’t go over; it might have been interesting if he had.
11 min Cheers greet every Celtic mistake. Groans meet every blow of Don Robertson’s referee’s whistle that isn’t in Rangers’ favour. Can’t beat a partisan Old Firm crowd, can you?
Rabbi Matondo, from the tough streets of Ely in Cardiff and schooled in the Manchester City academy, looks ideal for a game such as this. His pace is frightening.
7 min Scales doesn’t deal with Dessers but Callum McGregor then shows oustanding composure to slalom away from trouble in his own penalty box.
6 min Celtic might need to think about the Rangers inside-right channel, where Dessers continues to find space behind a very high line from the Bhoys’ back four.
Maeda versus Tavernier on that side is shaping up to be a tasty tussle, too. Both are absolute dogs of war.
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3 min Both teams look bang up for this, as you’d expect. The pressing is high, frantic but also a little disjointed from both forwards lines, as Ryan Jack takes control in that holding midfield position for Rangers.
Nearly a dream start for Rangers! The ball is in the net via Matondo, but the offside flag goes up against Dessers in the build-up. That would have been some beginning.
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We kick off with kick off. Kick, kick.
When I said there were absolutely no Celtic fans in the ground, I omitted Neil Lennon, whose loyalties are obvious – although he’s here in a professional capacity in the Sky Sports studio – as fans unfurl a giant tifo ahead of the players’ arrival onto the pitch.
An email from Joshua Reynolds before we get going:
The clash of the used-to-be England goalkeepers. As a Stoke supporter I’m happy to see Jack has found himself a starting role in Scotland. As an aside: do you think Butland’s teammates call him ‘Butters’?
Hopefully not ‘Butterfingers’.
A reminder that there are absolutely no Celtic fans attending this game. Rangers had offered their rivals 708 tickets for the match, but that was refused due to safety concerns
Beale has been speaking to the Sky cameras before kick-off:
Going into this first international break, a peroid of reflection, it would mean a lot for us to win the game. It would sum up our work in pre-season, our recruitment and our work as a staff.
These games mean a hell of a lot to people, and also in the landcape of the league, so it’s important to put on a big performance.
Celtic – great manager, a great team. This game will give both teams a lot of food for thought going into the rest of the season.
He’s spoken about his faith in young left-back Dujon Sterling, in the absence of Borna Barisic who failed a late fitness test and misses out.
It’s worth pointing out that St Mirren are currently top of the Scottish Premiership table at this early stage – although that’s certain to change by the end of this game, whatever the result.
Graeme Souness believes Michael Beale cannot afford to lose today. After a harrowing week in Europe and a loss in Rangers’ opening league game of the season, it’s hard to argue with such logic.
I wonder who he wants to win?
In position early… Rangers v Celtic live coverage on Sky Sports from 11 pic.twitter.com/pZ0XNqrYBi
— Chris Sutton (@chris_sutton73) September 3, 2023
Celtic will be hoping new boy Nat Phillips can get up to speed pronto, given their recent worries at the back, with many supporters unconvinced by the partnership between Gustaf Lagerbielke and Liam Scales in central defence. They’ll be tested today. Cameron Carter-Vickers (injured) is a huge miss for Rodgers’ men.
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Ryan Jack did media duties for Rangers on Friday ahead of this one, so it was always likely that he would come back into the starting lineup, adding ballast to the midfield. Many supporters were surprised to see him on the bench for the PSV Eindhoven game that turned into a shellacking.
Surprised Ryan Jack didn’t start tonight. Rangers rarely lose when he plays and in the worst three results last season he didn’t start against Celtic (0-4) or Ajax (0-4) & went off at 1-2 vs Liverpool (1-7). They lack control without him. Still not brought in a proper 6.
— Jordan Campbell (@JordanC1107) August 30, 2023
Team news
A rather more attacking Gers lineup than we expected Michael Beale to name, with Kemar Roofe and Rabbi Matondo both named in the front three and Todd Cantwell shifted back into midfield.
Celtic rather more predictable, with the dangerous Kyogo Furuhashi leading the line. A big game is needed from skipper Callum McGregor in midfield, one change as Liel Adaba comes in for Yang Hyun-Jun on the left.
Rangers (4-3-3): Butland; Tavernier, Goldson, Souttar, Sterling; Jack, Raskin, Cantwell; Matondo, Roofe, Dessers.
Substitutes: McCrorie, Ridavn, Lundstram, Lawrence, Lammers, Cifuentes, Sima, Davies, Danilo.
Celtic (4-3-3): Hart; Johnston, Lagerbielke, Scales, Taylor; McGregor, O’Riley, Turnbull; Abada, Maeda, Kyogo.
Substitutes: Bain, Palma, Yang, Holm, Kobayashi, Oh, Kwon, Bernabei, Ralston.
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to our coverage of today’s Old Firm derby – the first of the new season and one which sees both Glasgow giants come into the game a little wounded and unsure of themselves. Mick Beale’s men were rocked by that Champions League qualifying rout by PSV in midweek, while Celtic drew a 0-0 blank against St Johnstone last week and appear to lack fluency under new boss Brendan Rodgers. This year’s fight for bragging rights in Scottish football looks an intriguing one, with the result of today’s clash at Ibrox likely to set the tone for the coming months. We’ll get team news in a matter of minutes; then we wait for the midday kick-off.
In the meantime, here’s Ewan Murray’s preview on the big match at Ibrox.
Even in as fevered a football environment as Glasgow, the shifting of bragging rights in the days leading up to an Old Firm clash felt novel. Rangers supporters were purring with expectation after St Johnstone held Celtic to a scoreless draw last Saturday.
The return of Brendan Rodgers had already been punctured by a feeble League Cup exit at Kilmarnock. The blue half of the city were licking their lips at the prospect of Rodgers bringing his team to Ibrox.
The changing of attitudes came after midweek events in Eindhoven. The manner of PSV’s 5-1 humbling of Rangers left Michael Beale grasping to defend his “new team”. It is one that displayed old failings. Suddenly, the dynamic of Sunday’s derby changed once more. Both managers find themselves under intense scrutiny. Should Celtic prevail, patience for Beale from the stands will evaporate.
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