Right, that’s it from me. Here’s our match report:
Stats!
🔴 - Alfredo Morelos was sent off for the 7th time in his 3 seasons @RangersFC as Rangers beat Celtic 2-1 at Celtic Park for the first time in 10 years (3-1 on 24 October 2010). #oldfirm
— Gracenote Live (@GracenoteLive) December 29, 2019
Steven Davis to Sky: “It’s a massive step forward. I thought we were excellent.”
And man-of-match Borna Barisic: “We had a lot of confidence and we totally deserved this win.”
From our very own Ewan Murray:
A real success for Steven Gerrard, that. Rangers were far more cohesive, organised, sharp than Celtic. You never really saw Rangers giving their lead away in the second half.
— Ewan Murray (@mrewanmurray) December 29, 2019
Updated
So Rangers close to within two points of Celtic at the summit and they have a game in hand. The three points were fully deserved – they were the better side throughout. Morelos’s ridiculous 85th-minute and 95th-minute yellow cards were both so, so needless but his sending off is a minor blow in the grand scheme of things.
Fair to say, Steven Gerrard is very happy. I think the TV broadcasters had to keep muting their mics as he let loose a few Bad Words Of Joy.
Full-time: Celtic 1-2 Rangers
It’s all over! But the title race is just starting.
RED CARD!
Morelos dives hilariously in the Celtic box and gets deservedly booked. He’s off. A Rangers official also gets his marching orders for complaining.
90+4 min: Katic blocks Edouard’s shot. Corner. Cleared. And that should be that.
90+3 min: … and it’s nodded wide by Jullien at the near post. It looks like it should be another corner but the officials award a goal kick.
90+2 min: Ntcham smashes the ball boxwards and Davis just gets his head on it to divert it away for a corner …
90+1 min: Jack and McGregor collide and the Rangers man goes down clutching his shin. Celtic free-kick though and home side launch forward.
90 min: Four minutes of added time to be played. And Rangers have a corner, which Morelos blasts against McGregor and out for a throw in. Tick tock …
89 min: Morelos wins the cheapest of free-kicks from Bolingoli as Ajer and Jullien get themselves into a pickle on halfway. Rangers will run it into the corner …
88 min: Bolingoli gets a free header at the back post but can’t pick out Griffiths in the middle. Another few seconds tumble from the clock …
87 min: Can Celtic muster a grandstand finish? Ajer overlaps down the left but the threat is smothered. Rangers can’t get out of their half though …
85 min: Morelos goes into the book for a little nudge on Brown.
84 min: Morelos and Jullien tangle on the edge of the box with the ball bouncing through … and the free-kick goes Celtic’s way. That was a heart-in-mouth moment for the home fans.
83 min: … Griffiths goes for goal from the free-kick but it’s well over the bar.
82 min: Arfield’s first act is a loose touch that ends a dangerous Rangers break and sets Celtic on the counter. Barisic hauls down Frimpong on the corner of the area to pick up a booking …
81 min: Arfield replaces Kamara for Rangers. And for Celtic, Christie makes way for Griffiths.
80 min: … and there’s a foul as the ball comes in.
79 min: Aribo forces a corner from Jullien. And Barisic taaaakkkessss hiiiiisss ttiiimmmmee getting over there to take it …
77 min: Celtic have switched to a back three which has helped them with width but has definitely opened them up defensively. Bitton gives the ball away cheaply (not for the first time) but Aribo can only lash wide from the angle.
76 min: Jullien has a big baseball swing as a corner drops again to him but can’t make a clean contact with the volley.
75 min: Celtic build nicely down the right, with Frimpong again to the fore. Brown’s eventual cross is nodded away by Goldson under pressure from Edouard.
74 min: … it comes to nothing.
73 min: Kent mugs Bitton on halfway and scutters forward. Rangers corner …
72 min: Bolingoli goes into the book after pulling back Tavernier in midfield.
70 min: Kamara is booked for a foul on Frimpong, who has come into the game markedly in the last 10 minutes. It’s feels a little like Lennon has taken the shackles off his side and they’re certainly making the most of it.
69 min: Christie whips in a corner so vicious it mutters about chianti and fava beans but no one can get a clean contact. Then Ajer fizzes the ball into the danger area and again there’s no touch. It’s all Celtic now.
68 min: Subs for Celtic and it’s the two wide men who are replaced. Bitton comes on for Johnstone and Ntcham replaces Forrest.
67 min: Rangers have just gone into their shell a little here and they’re grateful to McGregor for tipping away Edouard’s nicely-struck effort from the edge of the box.
65 min: Off the line! Jullien gets on the end of a corner and his header is past McGregor but Davis is there to nod off the line for the second time in the game.
64 min: Forrest, who has struggled to get into the game against Barisic (who is a decent contender for MOTM), can’t squeeze his pass through to Edouard. Celtic need an injection of impetus from somewhere.
62 min: Kent rather cynically trips Frimpong and is a little fortunate to escape a booking.
61 min: Barisic, who has two assists to his name already today, this time swings in a slightly miscued effort and Celtic claim a free-kick of their own.
60 min: Morelos goes down under pressure from Christie and wins a free-kick much to the chagrin of the home fans.
58 min: Now then. Can Rangers maintain their intensity and keep Celtic out of the game?
GOAL! Celtic 1-2 Rangers (Katic 56)
And Rangers have the lead they deserve! Barisic’s corner is perfect and Katic climbs high above Ajer to power his header past Forster.
Updated
56 min: … and Goldson should score. The ball was cleared but lofted back in, Barisic flicked on and Goldson couldn’t react in time.
55 min: Tavernier is upended by Johnstone has he looks to skip forward, winning Rangers a free-kick on the touchline, 30-odd yards from goal …
53 min: … Christie’s outswinger is just too high for Jullien. And when the ball is fired back in by Edouard there’s no hooped shirt on the end of it.
52 min: Pass, pass, pass from Celtic but this half has started in much the same vein as the first, with Rangers well on top. That said, the home side have forced a corner …
50 min: What a chance! Goldson’s wonderful diagonal ball from the back finds Kent clear on the left. He sends in the perfect low ball across goal but Morelos can only send his sliding effort soaring over the bar from six yards out.
49 min: Christie picks up a needless booking after bundling into Morelos on halfway.
48 min: And, oddly enough, Frimpong charges forward for pretty much the first time this afternoon, though the attack comes to nought.
47 min: Celtic’s wide players really haven’t got into the game – their full-backs especially have been stuck in reverse all afternoon. A bit more from them could make all the difference.
Peep! Off we go again. Celtic, who surely can’t be as shaky this half, get us under way once more.
The players are back out. Half II: Return Of The Football is imminent.
Peep! PEEP! And that’s that for the first period at Celtic Park. Rangers will be fuming that they go into the break level.
45 min: Two minutes of added time to play at the end of an enthralling first half.
44 min: McGregor gets some magic sponge action after finding himself on the wrong end of Jack’s boot.
43 min: Fair to say that VAR would have disallowed that I think, though Edouard didn’t know anything about it.
GOAL! Celtic 1-1 Rangers (McGregor/Edouard 42)
Celtic are level within minutes! Jack’s attempted tackle on Edouard bobbles through to McGregor, who takes a touch and unleashes an effort at goal. It strikes Edouard on the hand and deflects past the utterly wrongfooted goalkeeper.
Updated
40 min: Edouard has the chance to let fly from the edge of the box but dallies for just a second and finds Davis snapping at his heels to snatch the ball away. The last 15 minutes here have been absolutely breathless.
38 min: Brown goes into the referee’s Little Book Of Quite Naughty Men after clattering Kamara in midfield. Generally Old Firm referees might as well book Brown at the pre-match handshakes but that looked a bit harsh.
GOAL! Celtic 0-1 Rangers (Kent 37)
Rangers have dominated for all of the game but somehow this has come against the run of play. Barisic’s low pass into the box from the left picks out Ryan Kent and he sweeps a first-time effort in off the post with the Celtic defence statuesque.
Updated
36 min: Tavernier does well to keep pace with McGregor and make a challenge as Celtic keep their foot on the accelerator.
34 min: All of a sudden it’s all Celtic. Davis heads off the line after Jullien connects well with Christie’s corner. the penalty, by the way, was given for Katic’s pull on Jullien. The Rangers man was booked and it was probably a fair decision. McGregor, though, came to the rescue.
SAVED! Celtic 0-0 Rangers
What a save this is! McGregor leaps to his left and claws away Christie’s fizzing effort. Nice height maybe but it was struck well.
Updated
Penalty!
32 min: … there’s grappling in the box and Kevin Clancy has spotted something. He points at the spot!
31 min: Goldson has to come across and make a fine tackle on Christie, who is sent galloping forward by Jack’s mistake. Celtic corner …
30 min: Edouard tries to get on the ball but eventually gets crowded out by Rangers defenders.
27 min: Johnstone crosses from the left – it’s behind Christie but he gets a kind of backheel scorpion kick on it and makes a reasonable contact. The ball flies over. It was an attempt at something a little like this:
The best A-League goal ever?! 😳
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) October 10, 2019
A truly outrageous scorpion kick while on the run from Riley McGree!
Just. Incredible.
The 2019/20 season kicks off live on BT Sport tomorrow 👊pic.twitter.com/stUKyi2Cs3
25 min: … another scramble, this time Forster saves with his feet from Davis. You feel Rangers have to take advantage of their dominance here – Celtic are all over the place defensively but surely they’ll sort themselves out at some point.
24 min: Goldson flicks on, Morelos shoots, blocked, another corner …
23 min: The rattled Jullien gives away a soft, soft free-kick on Morelos. Another chance for a dangerous ball into the box … it’s deflected away for a corner.
22 min: McGregor and Christie can’t take advantage of Kamara’s error inside his own half. Cue a couple of thumping challenges as Rangers look to break.
20 min: As Blur once (nearly) sang, there’s Pressure On Jullien, who gives away another free-kick. Rangers can’t make anything of it though.
19 min: Christie gets a yard of space 30 yards out and thinks ‘why not?’ The Celtic fans behind the goal who have to throw the ball back give him his answer.
18 min: … whipped in by Tavernier, who has impressed in these opening exchanges, the loose ball falls to Morelos and worked back out to the right-back but this time his ball into the box is gathered by Forster.
17 min: Morelos wins a free-kick over on the Rangers right, close to the corner quadrant …
16 min: Morelos lets fly from distance but again it’s straight down Forster’s throat.
15 min: Johnstones pulls the ball back to an onrushing McGregor as Celtic get on the front foot for the first time. He’s tackled immediately but Celtic will feel a bit better just for being down at the Rangers end.
13 min: Morelos squeezes a shot away from the edge of the box but Forster gathers with ease.
12 min: Morelos, who moments ago had “a coming together” with Scott Brown, now fouls Jullien. The Morelos Rage-o-meter creeps up a couple of points …
11 min: Tavernier’s long pass finds Morelos scampering in behind the two Celtic centre-halves but he can’t find Aribo, who is arriving in support.
10 min: Forster drops on Aribo’s low pass across the six-yard box. Celtic really need to get a foothold here.
9 min: Some great intricate interplay gets Rangers going once more and it takes a stretching Jullian header to avert the danger before Tavernier blasts well over. The home side look a little nervy at the moment.
8 min: Barisic curls a free-kick into the Celtic area but Forster comes out confidently to claim.
7 min: Jullien is incredibly lucky on the edge of his own area after seeing his pass blocked by Aribo. Morelos can’t quite get hold of the loose ball.
6 min: Brown’s turn to lose possession in his own half which allows Aribo to trundle forward. He can’t quite get his feet sorted out and Brown gets back to challenge.
4 min: Rangers look to build an attack on the right as Bolingoli gives the ball away cheaply. Davis’s ball into the box is then headed away by Frimpong. Rangers making the brighter opening …
3 min: Johnstone gives away a free-kick midway in the Rangers half and there’s an early signal of intent from the visitors as McGregor jogs out of his area to launch it long. No risks early on.
1 min: A couple of loose passes early on as the sides compete to see who can give the ball away in the worst possible position.
Peep! Referee Kevin Clancy blows his whistle and Rangers get things under way.
Before kick-off there’s a minute’s applause for the former Celtic captain Duncan MacKay, who died on Boxing Day at the age of 82.
Click-clack, click-clack … out they come into a packed Celtic Park, half of which is bathed in winter sunshine.
The players are in the tunnel …
Manager chat
Here’s Neil Lennon: “It’s the end of a tumultuous month, we’ve been brilliant, and I want us to go into the break on a high.”
And here’s Steven Gerrard: “This is a fresh game, another 90 minutes, we’ve got to find that [cup final] level.”
To while away the stressful minutes before kick-off, why not read Ewan Murray’s preview of today’s game:
A fixture bogged down by over‑the-top tribalism has a wider, useful value. Both halves of Glasgow’s big two have players capable of operating at a higher level. Édouard and Alfredo Morelos are widely heralded as blue-chip players but others – Ryan Christie, Callum McGregor, Ryan Jack and Glen Kamara – should relish the chance to demonstrate their abilities to a broader audience than is customary.
The teams
Celtic: Forster; Frimpong, Jullien, Ajer, Bolingoli; Brown, McGregor; Forrest, Christie, Johnston; Edouard.
Subs: Gordon, Hayes, Bauer, Bitton, Rogic, Ntcham, Griffiths.
Rangers: McGregor; Tavernier, Goldson, Katic, Barisic; Jack, Kamara; Davis Aribo, Kent; Morelos.
Subs: Foderingham, Flanagan, Edmundson, Arfield, Ojo, Barker, Defoe.
Updated
Preamble
Hello all and welcome to live coverage of (quick tally-up) the third Old Firm derby of the season. And it’s fair to say it’s a big ‘un.
Celtic are five points clear at the top of the Premiership, though Rangers have a game in hand. After this game the sides both go into hibernation for their three-week winter break. Today’s result could well set the tone for the second half of the campaign.
If Rangers are to close that gap at the top they’re going to have to break a trend. They have not won at Celtic Park since October 2010, nine years and 10 visits ago. And funnily enough, that season was also the last time Rangers won the league title.
Kick-off is at 12.30pm GMT. And the team news is imminent.
