Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
Sport
Adam Miller

Rangers beat Celtic 4-0 on this day 20 years ago

On this day 20 years ago, Rangers turned in one of their most devastating Old Firm performances of modern times.

Celtic needed to leave Ibrox with a win to have any chance of remaining in the title race, with Rangers entering the fixture 12 points ahead.

Craig Moore, who had been a key player throughout the campaign, missed out with a knee problem. Dick Advocaat responded by bringing in 23-year-old Scott Wilson.

STARTING XI : Klos, Amoruso, Numan, Ferguson, Kanchelskis, van Bronckhorst, Wallace, Albertz, Reyna, Wilson, Dodds

SUBS : Charbonnier, McCann, Nicholson, Tugay, Penttila

Rangers knew a win would all but seal the title, and any pre-match nerves were extinguished within four minutes.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst whipped in a corner to the far post, where it was met by the head of Andrei Kanchelskis.

The Russian directed it across the six-yard-box, where Jörg Albertz had the easy task of heading it into the net.

(Daily Record)

Sky Sports co-commentator Davie Provan called it "a shocking defensive goal for Celtic to lose with so many players goalside of the ball. A shocking goal to lose", and that set the tone for the rest of the afternoon.

On 40 minutes, van Bronckhorst pounced on a slack pass in the centre circle and burst forward before playing in Kanchelskis.

The winger kept his composure and slid the ball past Jonathan Gould to give Rangers a 2-0 lead at the break.

Three minutes into the second half Rangers looked to have scored a third, but Billy Dodds' effort was ruled offside.

Dodds was later replaced by Neil McCann, who soon set up excellent chances for Rod Wallace and Albertz. Neither of those were converted, but with six minutes remaining one of McCann's assists paid off.

After rounding Gould, he put in a cross for Albertz and the German finished acrobatically.

(Daily Record)

Celtic were all over the place by this point, and van Bronckhorst rubbed salt into their wounds with the pick of the bunch.

Kanchelskis set off on a run down the right and picked out Wallace, whose shot was blocked. The ball broke to van Bronckhorst, who composed himself and curled a shot beyond Gould.

The win put Rangers 15 points ahead of caretaker manager Kenny Dalglish's Celtic, and Advocaat's men would eventually win the league by a margin of 21 points.

As van Bronckhorst celebrated Rangers' fourth, commentator Ian Crocker remarked: "Simply the best often echoes around Ibrox. Now you know why."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.