Rangers 1 Celtic 5: Home side humbled in record defeat
Rangers 1-5 Celtic
Rangers suffer worst home defeat in rivals since 1897
Celtic score five for first time ever at Ibrox
Hapless Rangers humiliated
Celtic dished out one last humiliation to hapless Rangers as their 5-1 win at Ibrox took them to within five games of an unbeaten domestic campaign.
The Parkhead faithful lapped up every moment of this season's sixth and final Old Firm duel as Brendan Rodgers' undefeated troops outclassed a feeble Rangers line-up from start to finish.
Early goals from Scott Sinclair and Leigh Griffiths robbed the hosts of any belief they had left before Callum McGregor, Dedryck Boyata and Mikael Lustig's second-half strikes handed Celtic their biggest ever Ibrox win. Kenny Miller's late reply was no consolation.
While Rangers' hopes of finishing second are all but gone, their old rivals now need only negotiate their final four league games and the William Hill Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen to complete a loss-free league season and historic treble.
Despite boss Pedro Caixinha adding the attacking intent of Josh Windass and Joe Dodoo and the defensive experience of veteran Clint Hill to his team, there was no real resistance.
Such were the confidence levels among the away supporters, they even cheered as the home team was read out.
Rangers needed to avoid going behind early - but they lasted just seven minutes before conceding.
Myles Beerman was again starting at left-back for Caixinha's team but the 18-year-old's inexperience showed as he needlessly dived on Patrick Roberts inside the box.
Referee John Beaton consulted linesman Alan Mulvanny before pointing to spot, with Sinclair then sending Wes Foderingham the wrong way.
Frustrations were already boiling over in the stands and they erupted in appalling fashion as the champions wheeled away to celebrate, with a Rangers fan leaping from the Govan Stand to confront Celtic skipper Scott Brown.
Beaton and James Tavernier had to restrain the intruder before he was removed by police.
Brown was almost in trouble himself after catching Miller with an elbow, but he got away with a talking-to.
However, things would only get worse for Rangers as they found it impossible to stop their rivals flooding forward. While the hosts' passing was erratic, Celtic's exchanges seemed laser-guided.
And they struck again after 18 minutes. Stuart Armstrong robbed Emerson Hyndman in midfield before spraying the ball forward to Griffiths, with the striker - only starting because of Moussa Dembele's hamstring injury - ripping a sensational drive past Foderingham.
Rangers were left stunned when Beaton refused to give a foul after Jozo Simunovic careered into Miller, but Celtic did not hang about and only the crossbar denied Griffiths again. Sinclair put the rebound wide then missed an easier chance at the back post on the half-hour mark.
That Rangers reached the interval just two goals down seemed a minor miracle. Their only two attempts in goal during the entire half from Windass and Miller both failed to test Craig Gordon.
Caixinha looked to stiffen up his midfield by swapping the anonymous Dodoo for Andy Halliday.
But the tide continued to flow in one direction only and it took Celtic just six minutes from the restart to stretch their advantage.
Rangers surrendered possession again and McGregor made them pay as he netted by drilling the ball through Tavernier's legs and into the net from 12 yards out.
But when Boyata was allowed to jump unchecked from a Griffiths free-kick on 66 minutes, that was the cue for the Rangers faithful to head for the exits.
Miller did beat Gordon with 10 minutes left after swapping passes with Joe Garner, but even then Celtic did not relent and Lustig wrapped up Celtic's second five-goal derby display of the season when he ghosted through a non-existent Rangers defence to slot home at the death.
Caixinha takes the 'responsibility' for defeat
Rangers manager, Pedro Caixinha took a while to do his mandatory press interview, but he has finally given his view: “It was not about being disappointed, it’s about being realistic.
“They were better and they deserved to win. All the things changed [after the second goal]. The players were doing what we worked on during the week but it all changed in those five minutes [after the second goal].
“The players did everything they were asked. I assume all the responsibility. I take the responsibility for everything.”
Rodgers hails 'outstanding' team performance
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers:
“Outstanding team performance from the first whistle. We could have had more goals. We made a great start in the game. I said before the game I thought they would play a diamond and we could exploit that. Our tactical organisation and getting the ball back was excellent.
“We’ve had to improve as the season goes on. We’ve had to earn it and work hard. There is a big difference with this 5-1 to the one earlier in the season against them.”
"Pitch helped us," says Scott Brown
Celtic captain Scott Brown has claimed the perfect pitch at Ibrox helped his side:
"The pitch helped, it was great. It played into our hands. The lads were outstanding from start to finish."
Kieran Tierney awarded man of the match award
Celtic's Tierney, playing in his fist Old Firm match at Ibrox, wins man of the match.
Stat attack
Here are the match stats.
Record defeat
That was poor from Rangers. Really poor.
It was the first win by four goals by Celtic at Ibrox since 1897. It's also the first time Celtic have put five in at the ground. The win also means Celtic won in five of their six Old Firm games this season, drawing the other.
Rangers 1 Celtic 5
That's it! The humiliation is over. John Beaton puts the home side out of their misery and calls time.
90 mins
Brown comes off for Celtic for a pointless substitution. On comes Eboue Kouassi.
89 mins
Ibrox is emptying at a rate of knots.
GOAL!!!
And there goes my 25/1 bet! A very good finish after a quality run from Mikael Lustig puts it in the bottom right corner. He gets booked for pulling his shirt up in the celebration.
85 mins
Quite amusing.
Kenny Miller makes it 4-1...#OldFirmpic.twitter.com/jTKneARZkZ
— BenchWarmers (@BeWarmers) April 29, 2017
84 mins
Rangers have avoided their worst loss since the 1880s to Celtic at Ibrox. Well, they have at the moment. There is time left.
83 mins
Don't want to tempt fate. But I have a 4-1 scoreline to Celtic at 25/1!
Rangers are so off the pace here though, I'm not confident.
82 mins
It's Miller's tenth Old Firm goal.
GOAL!!!!
Kenny Miller restores some small pride. He finishes a move he started with a calm shot and it's now 4-1.
80 mins
80 mins
Windass sends a deflected shot into the arms of Gordon.
79 mins
Rangers again get into the Celtic area, but are unable to get a shot off.
76 mins
Tom Rogic on for Stuart Armstrong now for Celtic.
75 mins
Alongside the scoreline, we've also had crowd trouble here at Ibrox. We've had a pitch invasion before the game, apparently a battery thrown at a Celtic player, and an alleged racist gesture from a home supporter. A grim day for the home club.
Shocking racism from that Rangers supporter in the background #OldFirmpic.twitter.com/wAyrf3spyt
— Ross (@Ross0505) April 29, 2017
73 mins
Rangers miss a chance. Waghorn gets a rebound come his way inside the box but fluffs his chance.
72 mins
James Forrest comes on for Celtic, Patrick Roberts departs.
70 mins
20 mins left. If this was a boxing match it would be stopped. It's a real beating.
68 mins
This equals an 1897 win Celtic had here if it stays the same. Boytana picks up a yellow for a shove. Free kick to Rangers on the right hand side of the Celtic box.
GOAL!!!
Dedryck Boytana easily gets on the end of a free kick from Griffiths. He nods it in. Foderingham stands still and does nothing to challenge for it. Shocking goalkeeping!
64 mins
Yellow card on Halliday. Hard to see if it was the challenge or potential handball as he fell. Either way, free kick just outside the box, right hand side.
Griffiths puts it well over. Poor.
62 mins
Long throw from Tavernier is returned from the box off the field by Celtic. He has another go with the next throw in, again dealt with by the defence. Eventually a cross comes in and Gordon deals with it.
AMAZINGLY...Gordon has to deal with another cross moments later as Celtic lose the ball. He's had three touches in two minutes. Rangers are improving.
59 mins
Rangers are years behind, it's more like a cup game with a non-league team up against a premier league team. Sadly predictable #OldFirm
— Richard Jackson (@richardpjackson) April 29, 2017
Such a gulf in class between Rangers and Celtic #OldFirm
— Matt (@itsmattray) April 29, 2017
Rangers finally get near the Celtic box. They have a shot on target! Miller puts it on target, but it's weak effort.
Craig Gordon finally has something to do and saves it. Almost forgot he was playing.
Craig Gordon during this game #OldFirmpic.twitter.com/F9wWUxPEfU
— Graham Patchell (@GrahamPatchell) April 29, 2017
58 mins
Griffiths is called offside from a long pass. He makes a wonderful finish from a tight angle, but it doesn't count.
57 mins
Joe Garner on for Emerson Hyndman for Rangers as Pedro Caixinha looks to try and avoid further humiliation.
54 mins
Rangers, not surprisingly, look frustrated. Their first attack after the goal is spolit by an offside.
GOAL!!! McGregor
Rangers still all over the place and Celtic make them pay. Some simple inter passing allows McGregor to bang one in from outside the box. It was simply a matter of time.
53 mins
52 mins
Griffiths has a good chance in the middle of the box but is unable to get any power on it. Celtic have had about four chances this half. Rangers none. Ominous.
51 mins
Griffiths makes a run into the box, but he slips trying to pass to Tierney, who was in a dangerous position.
48 mins
All good for Rodgers.
47 mins
Foderingham wins the contest for the ball from the corner. Celtic are back at them 30 seconds later after Rangers lose the ball cheaply. Offside kills the attack.
47 mins
Celtic almost score in the first minute. They win a corner instead.
46 mins
And we are off. Can Rangers make this some kind of contest?
Rangers make a change
Joe Dodoo off for Rangers. Andy Halliday on.
Meanwhile:
This is a proper tackle pic.twitter.com/ClURwPKAzs
— ODDSbible (@ODDSbible) April 29, 2017
Tale of the half
Rangers didn't have a single shot on goal all half. Celtic had just two. It's 2-0 to Celtic.
Crowd trouble
There's been a few crowd incidents. A pitch invader before the game and some trouble in the stands in the opening minutes. There are also reports of racist gestures from one Rangers fan after Sinclair's goal.
Half-time: Rangers 0-2 Celtic
That's the half. It's 2-0 to Rangers, but 4-0 wouldn't be unfair. Rangers not even in this. It doesn't seem to be a lack of effort, but it seems they are being utterly outclassed.
45 mins
Celtic launch one last attack and a pass from McGregor beats Foderingham, but there is no Celtic player to find the open net and Rangers clear.
Rangers counter and Kenny Miller tries a long range effort, but it drifts wide.
That's half-time!
44 mins
Minute of stoppage time expected.
43 mins
Celtic try a training ground type move from the corner. And like most training ground type moves, it doesn't work on the pitch.
42 mins
Celtic dominating possession again, as they did last week. And the few times Rangers get it they don't seem to offer anything.
Another corner for Celtic.
39 mins
Rangers hitting too many long balls with the little possession they have. Poor stuff.
38 mins
Armstrong tries to place it gently into the box, but everyone misses it and it's a goal kick.
When you're making Scott Sinclair look like Eden Hazard it's time to call it a day @RangersFC#OldFirm
— Jim Bob (@JVNFFC) April 29, 2017
37 mins
Hyndman takes out Tierney. About 15m outside the Rangers box. Free kick.
36 mins
Roberts has a poke from outside the box. Not far off, but high.
35 mins
It will be a miracle if Rangers keep this below two goals. It's all Celtic.
32 mins
Another corner for Celtic as Danny Wilson heads it off for Rangers. Foderingham gets a hand to it and clears.
30 mins
Rangers are all over the place. #OldFirm
— Alex Graham �� (@AlexGraham611) April 29, 2017
This.
29 mins
Griffiths floats the free kick over everyone, but Celtic hold on. Another cross from Griffiths and...again Sinclair misses a very good chance. Should have been three by now.
27 mins
Sinclair brought down by Windass. Gets a yellow. Now it's handbags among the players. All boiling over.
27 mins
This is getting spiky.
26 mins
Miller is brought down with a tough two footed challenge from Simunovic He wants a free kick. Nothing. Cards given for a lot less.
Celtic counter and Griffiths almost scores a second, hitting the bar from the edge of the box. Sinclair fails to score from the rebound. He should have.
25 mins
Rangers win a corner...and utterly overcook it. Ball simply travels off the far side of the pitch. Poor.
24 mins
#OldFirm already done and dusted thanks to that thumping strike from Griffiths
— Rex ™ (@ni_rex) April 29, 2017
You get that feeling.
22 mins
Celtic just keep coming at Rangers, they are not easing off. Now a corner. Nothing comes of it but Celtic come right back at them.
This could get very nasty. Rangers under all sorts of pressure.
They survive for a short while and clear.
20 mins
Commentators arguing that Wes Foderingham could have done better with the shot for the last goal. Either way, the strike was nice.
Celtic have had two shots on target, two goals.
19 mins
Dodoo offside as Rangers try to get one back.
GOAL!!!! 18 mins
Stuart Armstrong releases Leigh Griffiths with a great pass.
GOAL!!. From a tight angle just inside the box, far left, Griffiths smashes it in inside the far post. Stunning strike.
17 mins
A long mazy run from Stuart Armstrong takes him 30m into the box, but he gets snuffed out before he can fire a shot.
15 mins
It's a loose, frantic game so far. Rangers seem more stretched and you can see why Rangers have struggled so far this season against them.
14 mins
Rangers almost win a corner, but Dodoo gets forced out just short of the corner flag. Waghorn to throw into the box. Brown clears.
12 mins
Celtic continue to hold all the aces here. It's fast and frantic, but it's mainly Celtic threatening so far.
10 mins
It really was an awful penalty to give away.
What A Ridiculous Challenge. 100% Penalty! Celtic With A Chance To Lead After Just 5 Minutes.. #OldFirm
— Ibrahim Hayat (@itsibroo) April 29, 2017
Scott Brown almost picks up a card with a tough challenge. But the man who is lucky to even be playing today gets away with it.
8 mins
Some crowd trouble now kicking off in the ground too.
8 mins
GOAL!!!! Scott Sinclair makes Rangers pay for Beerman's bizarre decision to make a dodgy slide tackle on Roberts and concede a penalty. Sinclair puts in nicely in the right hand corner.
7 mins
Penalty! Beerman makes on odd call to slide in on the edge of the box with NO danger at all! He fouls Roberts.
6 mins
Celtic playing keep ball for a bit now. A dangerous attack is foiled by a good tackle by Tavernier on the edge of the box.
4 mins
Wilson is the target of the free kick but Simunovic clears easily for Celtic. Rangers get the ball back and launch a decent attack, Windass tries to swerve one in from about 30m. Wide right, but not a bad effort.
3 mins
John Beaton is the referee today. It's his first Old Firm match.
Early free kick for Rangers, about 15m outside the Celtic box.
2 mins
Rangers start with a poor long ball attack that's easily dealt with. The first real attack is from Celtic, with Tierney putting a hopeful cross in, but it's dealt with.
Moments later Celtic are back in the box again, but despite an appeal for handball and a penalty from McGregor, Rangers survive.
0 mins
We are off!
Teams are out, Tina Turner sings
The teams are out onto the pitch at Ibrox, walking out to the incredibly uncheesy Tina Turner. Emotional.
Here is one final reminder of the teams.
Rangers: Foderingham, Tavernier, Wilson, Hill, Beerman, Windass, Holt, Hyndman, Waghorn, Dodoo, Miller
Subs: Alnwick, Garner, McKay, Forrester, Halliday, Bates, O'Halloran
Celtic: Gordon, Lustig, Simunovic, Boyata, Tierney, McGregor, Brown, Armstrong, Roberts, Sinclair, Griffiths
Subs: DeVries, Gamboa, Sviatchenko, Bitton, Kouassi, Rogic, Forrest
Rodgers says Celtic will 'respect' opponents
Celtic ran out 2-0 winners last week against Rangers, putting them in line for a domestic treble.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers said that last week’s scoreline didn’t reflect the dominance his team enjoyed in the game.
"We will respect the opponent, which we always do, but really look to impose our style on our game as we have done all season," said Rodgers. "These games are never comfortable. They are always tough games, they are always competitive."
Tale of woe for Rangers
Here are the results so far this season:
Celtic 5-1 Rangers
Rangers 0-1 Celtic (League Cup)
Rangers 1-2 Celtic
Celtic 1-1 Rangers
Celtic 2-0 Rangers (Scottish Cup)
A bit of history
On this day today:
�� It was #OnThisDay in 1967 that a brace from Willie Wallace won #CelticFC the Scottish Cup - the third of 5 trophies that year! #Lisboa50pic.twitter.com/Dio257mg2C
— Celtic Football Club (@celticfc) April 29, 2017
Hope for Rangers?
The straws for Rangers fans to cling on are few in number.
Celtic are unbeaten for 27 consecutive matches. They've also not lost a single one of 41 domestic matches this season.
Rangers have, however, only lost one home game this league campaign. The bad news is that was against Celtic.
What are we playing for today?
With Celtic already so far over the horizon with the title they are but a distant dream for Rangers, the home side are playing for pride.
Celtic have beaten Rangers four times this season with a draw Rangers their best result. Rangers will also be looking to close the gap on second place Aberdeen today , they currently sit nine points behind them in the league.
Celtic announce team, one change from last week
Leigh Griffiths comes in for the injured Moussa Dembele, the only change from the win over Rangers last week.
�� Here's your #CelticFC starting XI for today's Glasgow Derby at Ibrox. #COYBIGpic.twitter.com/AFvNTKjmWy
— Celtic Football Club (@celticfc) April 29, 2017
Scott Brown has won his appeal against his red card and ill play today. A lucky lad.
Rangers make three changes
Rangers have made three changes from last week (where they fell to Celtic, again). Clint Hill, Josh Windass and Joe Dodoo come into the side.
Here is the line up:
TEAM NEWS: @PedroCaixinha has made three changes to his side this afternoon with Clint Hill, Josh Windass and Joe Dodoo starting. pic.twitter.com/IkoSW2Syyn
— Rangers FC (@RangersFC) April 29, 2017
Old Firm 2016/17: Part Six
Welcome to our live coverage of the sixth and final Old Firm clash of the season. Rangers are at home to their bitter rivals and are looking for their first win against them this season.
We’ll have all the build up, match action and post game fall out. If you want to get in touch with your thoughts, insight, opinion or just want to share a rant, get in touch on Twitter at @jpstafford.
Match preview
What is it?
It's Rangers vs Celtic in the Scottish Premiership - another of the heavyweight clashes for sport fans.
When is it?
It's today, so Saturday 29 April.
What time is kick-off?
This one begins at noon British Summer Time.
What TV channel is it on?
Sky Sports have the rights to Scottish Premiership football. You can watch this Old Firm derby on Sky Sports 1, Sky Sports 1 HD and Sky Sports 5 or Sky Sports 5 HD. Alternatively, you can follow the match here.
What is the team news?
Rangers:
Rangers defender Lee Hodson is a doubt for the final Old Firm clash of the season on Saturday.
Reports on Thursday suggested the Northern Irishman could miss the Ladbrokes Premiership showdown after a training ground tumble left him on crutches. Manager Pedro Caixinha, however, would only say his situation was being assessed ahead of the Ibrox fixture.
Meanwhile, Lee Wallace (stomach), Rob Kiernan (calf) and Philippe Senderos (knee) are all still missing along with long-term casualties Jordan Rossiter (calf) and Niko Kranjcar (knee).
Provisional squad: Foderingham, Tavernier, Bates, D Wilson, Hill, Beerman, Toral, Hyndman, Holt, Waghorn, McKay, Garner, Miller, Halliday, Dodoo, Windass, A Wilson, Forrester, Hodson, Alnwick.
Celtic:
Celtic skipper Scott Brown is free to face Rangers in Saturday's Ladbrokes Premiership clash at Ibrox after his recent red card against Ross County was downgraded to yellow on appeal.
Brown's caution took him over the disciplinary threshold again, however, and he will miss the following two matches against St Johnstone and Aberdeen.
Striker Moussa Dembele will miss the Ibrox match with a hamstring injury picked up in the 2-0 William Hill Scottish Cup win over the Light Blues at Hampden Park on Sunday.
Provisional squad: Gordon, Lustig, Tierney, Gamboa, Izaguirre, Toure, Boyata, Sviatchenko, Simunovic, Forrest, Sinclair, Armstrong, Brown, Bitton, Roberts, McGregor, Griffiths, Mackay-Steven, Kouassi, Aitchison, Bailly.
What are they saying?
Rangers' Martyn Waghorn
Asked if beating Rodgers' men was starting to feel like an impossible task, the Englishman said: "If you think like that it will become that. It will be in the back of your mind the whole time.
"The thing about this team is that we have a lot of big personalities, a lot of big characters.
"We're all disappointed from the weekend but we can use that the right way.
"We're going into Saturday in front of 50,000 at Ibrox, it's the last Old Firm of the season and we've got a point to prove. It's set up to be, hopefully, a good game.
"I understand we've not won against Celtic yet this season.
"But there is always going to be a time and there is always going to be someone who is going to beat them and you have to be positive going into these big games."
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers
"It is their home game and they will look to maybe press the game a little bit more.
"But it is always difficult and if they do decide to press more then it can be even better for us.
"It will open up the space behind the pressing line, a big space and we have got speed in our team.
"But we will prepare as we normally do for a tough game. We played very, very well on Sunday.
"The only disappointment was the scoreline didn't really reflect the dominance of the game.
"We will respect the opponent which we always do but really look to impose our style on our game as we have done all season."
What are the odds?
Rangers win - 15/4
Celtic win - 4/6
Draw - 3/1
What's our prediction?
Celtic to win by two goals.