Read Ewan Murray’s match report:
Some Rangers reaction: Scott Arfield says: “It means so much to this football club, it’s been a number of years since this result happened. It’s a massive marker for us. We’ve been battered from pillar to post, we’ve had good days and bad days but we always have that belief. We dominated the midfield and we’ve won the game.” Ryan Jack adds: “What a way to open my account. I’m so proud of all of the boys and just delighted with the result. We knew that Old Firms are always fierce and spicy, and that it was important to play with your head as well.”
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Full-time: Rangers 1-0 Celtic
Ryan Jack’s goal is ultimately the difference, with this priceless victory taking Steven Gerrard’s side level on points with Celtic, the league leaders. That’s a first league victory for Rangers over their Glasgow rivals since 2012. If we didn’t already, we have a title race on our hands too. Ibrox goes ballistic, and the Rangers players bask in the adulation. Brendan Rodgers suffers defeat in this fixture for the first time. Rangers meant business from the first whistle, with Tavernier, Arfield and Halliday excellent. Steven Gerrard stands at the gateway to the tunnel, embracing each of his players as they trudge towards a doubtless bouncing home dressing room. Celtic, by contrast, cannot wait to get home. They were unconvincing at the back and lacked any kind of threat up front.
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90+1 min: Scott Arfield earns a free-kick on halfway. Rodgers shakes his head in disbelief. Meanwhile, Jon Flanagan is coming on too, replacing Arfield.
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90 min: There will be three added minutes at Ibrox. Tavernier plays the Rangers free-kick short, with the ball coming straight back at them but Halliday does well to cope with a tricky high ball over the top.
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89 min: Boyata misplaces a simple pass for Ralston, and the young Celtic full-back inadvertently runs the ball out of play. It feels as though this game is getting away from them, as it has been for much of this afternoon. And now Callum McGregor is penalised for handball. Rangers will be in no rush to take this free-kick.
88 min: Andy Halliday is booked for time-wasting. He has a throw-in deep inside the Celtic half. Rangers are almost there. Can they eke out victory?
85 min: Alfredo Morelos just needs to be careful. He has done a few daft things again this afternoon, drawing attention to himself with some needless bits and pieces. We are in for a tense finale at Ibrox, and Rangers could do with 11 men on the field to repel the inevitable Celtic kitchen sink.
84 min: Celtic almost – almost – find a leveller! Worrall stands off Edouard, who makes a foray into the box. But Andy Halliday makes a magnificent block to leave himself winded and deny Ntcham an equaliser, with the midfielder’s effort seemingly goalbound. And Rangers defend the resulting corner. They’re desperate to see this out.
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83 min: McCrorie scoops an effort over the bar from distance. He slipped as he dispatched his strike from the edge of the box, so it was always rising.
82 min: Rangers retreat, of their own accord as opposed to Celtic pushing them into their own half. But Steven Gerrard does not like what he is seeing, he wants his team to move up the pitch, and orders his defensive line forward. Celtic are enjoying plenty of the ball, with Rangers playing as though they are happy for them to have that. That feels a dangerous game to play this late on.
80 min: Well, that really sums things up for Celtic. Scott Sinclair spreads the ball wide to his right, for Ntcham. But the Celtic winger makes a real mess of it, dribbling the ball out of play, much to the delight of the Rangers fans in the front row.
78 min: Rangers fans bask in another stray pass by public enemy number one: Scott Brown. Then the Celtic skipper exchanges words with Morelos.
76 min: It is a clean hit by Tavernier, but Gordon gathers his free-kick. It bounced in front of the Celtic goalkeeper. And now Scott Brown goes into the book, for a crude challenge on Ryan Kent, who is causing havoc. Brown has dominated derbies for years, but he has been way off the pace this afternoon.
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75 min: Ajer takes one for the team, booked after chopping Ryan Kent down on the edge of the box after the winger had twirled away from Scott Brown. Rangers get another free-kick 25 yards from goal, with Tavernier stood over it.
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74 min: Celtic clear, but back come Rangers through McCrorie. He furrows down the right flank but his delivery is poor. He bolted beyond McGregor and inside Ajer, but could not execute the final pass.
72 min: Halliday’s ball in is testing – again – but Boyata reads it well to head away. Celtic concede a corner.
71 min: Coulibaly replaces Candeias, as Rangers win another free-kick. It was more good refereeing, with Arfield fouled before John Beaton brought play back. Andy Halliday will flight the ball in from the left, about 25 yards out.
69 min: Superb block by Callum McGregor to deny Arfield! Boyata loses out to Morelos and, just as Arfield looks to pull the trigger close to the penalty spot, McGregor intercepts. Moments before, up the other end, McGregor found space in the box on the overlap, with the winger forcing Allan McGregor into a routine stop from the left. McGregor has come alive in the last few minutes – in both halves.
66 min: McGregor drills home – but the flag is up! It’s stupidly tight, but he is offside. The Celtic winger flies into the box, picking up a cute ball by Christie, after a defensive lapse between Tavernier and Candeias, and fires low beyond Allan McGregor. But the flag is up early, and Rangers survive. They were guilty of going to sleep.
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64 min: Gordon gives Ralston no chance with a kick out from the back, and instead the ball zooms straight out of play for a Rangers throw. Celtic have been so sloppy at the back, with Gordon’s performance the definition of Jekyll and Hyde.
62 min: Rodgers is frantically geeing his Celtic troops, but they have come up short in all departments so far. They really have been second-best.
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61 min: Gordon saves from Morelos! Tavernier plays the ball into the forward’s feet, and he finds half a yard to manoeuvre away from a tough-tight Ajer to get a shot away. It’s low and powerful from the angle, but never really troubling the Celtic goalkeeper. It was more brilliant play by Tavernier, who has excelled in both boxes. Candeias has been lively too.
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60 min: Edouard replaces Mikey Johnston, who found the going tough. Celtic have used all of their substitutions. Rangers are loving this.
58 min: Brendan Rodgers is readying Odsonne Edouard.
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57 min: Too much trickery fools Scott Brown, as the Celtic captain clips Ryan Kent. Rangers win a free-kick 35 yards or so from goal, way out on the left.
55 min: Huge jeers from the home faithful as Allan McGregor scoops up a hit-and-hope pass by Callum McGregor, the Celtic winger. Brendan Rodgers has pulled Sinclair over to the touchline, presumably to tell him to find his team a lifeline. Sinclair has not had a sniff.
54 min: Gordon denies Jack a second! Celtic fail to clear a bouncing ball in the box, with Boyata and co making a meal of things. Ryan Jack seizes possession, and attempts to side-foot home, but Craig Gordon gets a big left hand out to palm it away. Andy Halliday – again – whips back in the resulting corner, but this time Boyata clears. Rangers have been really impressive. Celtic – still – are yet to get going.
52 min: Brilliant again by Tavernier, who bursts into the box to reach Candeias’s ball after initially overrunning it. He bombs to the byline, before laying an inviting low ball across the box but Rangers cannot force it goalwards. Halliday’s resulting corner is devious, but Celtic eventually clear their lines through Ntcham. But by the time it reaches Mikey Johnston, the teenager cannot make it stick, with Tavernier bullying him off the ball. The Rangers full-back has been everywhere.
50 min: Steven Gerrard, hands in pockets, looks pretty content. Rangers have started this second half as they finished the first: rampant. Tavernier has been a constant outlet down the right, this time suppling Candeias to whip in from the right as the two exchange positions momentarily.
49 min: Ryan Christie has an effort deflected just wide moments later, leading to Rodgers to chuck out his gum and smile. He knows Celtic were living dangerously there.
47 min: Boyata clears off the line! It all stems from a dreadful, sloppy pass out of goal by Craig Gordon. Boyata is caught cold and Rangers are suddenly in on goal, as a sea of blue shirts overwhelmed the Celtic box. But Rangers could not force it goalwards, with Boyata eventually hacking off the line from Arfield. It was Kent that robbed Boyata in possession, before playing in Morelos, who then nudged the ball on to Scott Arfield. He attempted to hammer home on the spin but Boyata redeemed himself. Between Boyata and Gordon, it was a real mess.
46 min: Celtic get things started after the break. Brendan Rodgers has made another change too, with Lustig withdrawn and replaced by 20-year-old full-back Anthony Ralston. Lustig struggled v Kent.
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Half-time: Rangers 1-0 Celtic
Rangers have been relentless, Celtic poor. Ryan Jack’s goal is the difference at the break, and Brendan Rodgers may count himself lucky to only trail by the single goal at the interval. They have been second-best in all departments, with Ryan Kent, James Tavernier and Jack running things. Time for a breather.
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45+2 min: We have our first booking, on the brink of the interval. Lustig picks up a yellow card for a foul on Candeias. It’s a little harsh, with the defender’s momentum seemingly taking him sailing into the forward’s back on halfway.
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45+1 min: A meaty drop ball is won by Rangers. Scott Brown and Scott Arfield go head-to-head, before Candeias helps out the latter. The ball doesn’t get much of a look-in.
45 min: There will be two minutes of added time. Benkovic, the Leicester loanee, is withdrawn, and is replaced by Kristoffer Ajer.
44 min: Benkovic pulls up, under pressure from Morelos. His race looks run. Celtic are readying a defensive change on the bench.
43 min: McGregor does superbly down the left, surging down the flank, switching on the afterburners as he takes three Rangers shirts out of the game. But when he hands over the baton to Sinclair, there is James Tavernier to intercept. And the attack breaks down. Galling for McGregor, who did brilliantly.
42 min: Christie hangs in a high ball, it’s poor, and Rangers are gifted with the chance to take the sting out of the latest wave of Celtic pressure. Ryan Kent ushers the ball out of play, and Rangers will look to get back on the front foot.
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41 min: Right on cue, Sinclair plays a neat give-and-go and raids into the box. James Tavernier has to get the challenge right – and does. Celtic corner ...
38 min: At the other end, Christie’s corner is not clean, but it ends up bouncing kindly for Scott Brown to unleash an effort at goal from distance. Rangers get bodies in the way. Scott Sinclair, among others, has been totally anonymous for Celtic.
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37 min: Ryan Kent drops an effort just wide of Gordon’s goal! Morelos sprays the ball out to the edge of the box, where Kent is lurking. He jinks inside on to his right foot, attempting to bend the ball inside the post but it falls just outside. Another fine effort for Rangers. Kent has been superb down the left, a real headache for Lustig and co.
36 min: Arfield almost supplied Candeias, but McGregor does well to intercept. And Celtic fly forward on the counter through James Forrest, but Joe Worrall makes a superb, clean sliding challenge to bring Ibrox back to its feet.
34 min: Celtic have struggled to make the ball stick up front, with Mikey Johnston extremely isolated in attack. How early might Brendan Rodgers be tempted to introduce Edouard, or Kieran Tierney for the matter. Celtic have been very much second-best. Going forward, other than that early Ryan Christie effort, Allan McGregor has had very little to be remotely worried about.
32 min: A priceless first Rangers goal for Ryan Jack. Rangers have been well on top, and they have a deserved lead. Steven Gerrard will be delighted with this display, Brendan Rodgers not so much. Ibrox is absolutely rocking. Celtic have struggled to live with Rangers’s intensity. Can they keep it up?
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GOAL! Rangers 1-0 Celtic (Jack, 30)
Ryan Jack drills home – through the legs of Scott Brown – at Ibrox. Ryan Kent did brilliantly in the buildup, skirting to the byline before leaving Lustig on his backside. After racing down the flank, his next touch was superb, a composed pass inside to Jack, in plenty of space. He takes a touch before firing hard and low. His effort nips through the legs of Brown, taking a little rattle off the Celtic skipper, and that’s enough to deceive Craig Gordon.
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29 min: Rangers pressure Scott Brown into another error. McCrorie, Jack and Arfield have been relentless in their running.
27 min: Boyata does well at the back for Celtic, showing plenty of composure to sap the Rangers forwards chasing him down. He fizzes the ball into Christie, who then supplies Ntcham. Celtic switch play neatly and it is spells like this that suggest they are beginning to find their range, as they start to come alive.
26 min: Ntcham is pulled up for a foul on Arfield approaching halfway. Just as Celtic attempted to get things going, Rangers stop them in their tracks.
24 min: Another half-chance for Rangers, with Morelos dragging painfully wide after being picked out over the top of the Celtic back line. It was good work by Jack, though Morelos did ignore Candeias’s company once more.
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23 min: Arfield does well to nick a loose ball away from Scott Brown, freeing Ryan Kent to kickstart another Rangers attack. The winger is probably fouled – a sly clip of the heels – but the referee’s having none of it. More encouragement for the hosts, who look to rebuild from the back through Ryan Jack.
21 min: And now Connor Goldson heads wide from Halliday’s corner. Halliday’s delivery from set-pieces has been nothing short of lethal for Rangers, with Celtic struggling to cope. Goldson gets up well, but his effort is off-target. Rangers are really trying to up the ante. Celtic desperately need to calm things down.
20 min: Alfredo Morelos flashes an effort wide! The forward drove towards goal, running at Boyata as the angle became increasingly difficult. There was no fewer than three Rangers shirts breaking their necks to join him for company in the box, but the striker only had one thing in his mind. It was a slick counter, after James Forrest had burst forward.
19 min: Celtic could do with stemming the Rangers flow, but it just keeps coming back at them. Craig Gordon has made two fine saves to keep the scores level.
16 min: Scott Brown almost scores an own goal – after another fine stop by Gordon! This time Halliday plays the ball in, and then after Jack initially forces it goalwards, Connor Goldson helps it on. But his header lacks conviction, allowing Gordon to stab away from goal. Rangers whip the resulting corner back in, and Halliday’s corner bounces off the bar. Morelos puts Brown under pressure and the Celtic captain gets up to clear, but it skirts on to the underside of the bar. And – somehow – Celtic survive. A very lively start at Ibrox.
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15 min: Gordon keeps Candeias out! Arfield plays in Kent, who keeps it alive on the byline and Gordon dives to save. The contact by Candeias was pretty tame in reality, and it was straight at the goalkeeper, but nevertheless with the pace this game is being played at, it was a fine stop by Gordon. And now Kent is fouled, so Rangers have another opportunity to swing the ball into the box.
14 min: Celtic are forced to cope with a flurry of Rangers activity, with Morelos momentarily grounded by a Lustig challenge on the edge of the box.
11 min: Boyata sells Scott Brown short and, in doing so, it turns into something of a hospital pass. He catches Candeias, who ends up rolling towards Gordon in the area, but it is more the follow-through that catches the Rangers man more than anything. It was a fully-blooded tackle by Brown, which, is what it’s all about, right?
10 min: Halliday floats the corner in towards the back post, where Joe Worrall nods across goal, causing a moment’s panic inside the box. But Craig Gordon is quick to command his area and scoop the ball up.
9 min: Kent pressures Boyata into trouble, with Celtic eventually hacking the ball clear. Rangers look to pour forward once more, with Tavernier again involved down the right. He flights the ball in for Morelos, but this time Boyata does well, heading clear no problem. Rangers win yet another corner.
8 min: Now Rangers go on the attack, with Celtic forced to repel a swell of corners. Tavernier’s delivery is poor, though, thrashing the ball on to the roof of Gordon’s net.
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7 min: Celtic pass up another chance, this one is even clearer-cut. They work the ball back in from the right after McGregor’s save from Forrest, but Ryan Christie squanders the chance after Lustig cut the ball back for him on the edge of the box. Christie is a man in form, having scored five in his last nine.
6 min: Allan McGregor makes the first save! James Forrest opens his body up to get a shot away on the edge of the box after neat interplay with Christie and Johnston. It was a little triangle on the edge of the area that caused problems, and Forrest steadied himself before attempting to curl beyond McGregor, who parries it.
5 min: Tavernier clears Lustig’s routine free-kick away from danger. Celtic take an age to play the throw-in, attempting to take the sting out of the game.
3 min: Tavernier angles a ball forward, but Celtic snuff it out. Ibrox is absolutely rocking. Rangers are certainly revved-up. Off-camera, Morelos appears to have a little petulant kick out at Scott Brown. The referee presumably didn’t spot it.
2 min: Halliday earns a huge ovation from the home faithful, after legging it 20 yards or so to make a crunching – but fair – challenge on Ntcham.
1 min: Ryan Kent has had a couple of early touches, to get Rangers on the front foot. Boyata calmly clears a ball into the right channel away from danger.
Peeeeeeeeeeeeeep!
After a minute’s silence to pay respects to the 66 people who lost their lives in the Ibrox Disaster in 1971, Rangers get us under way.
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The teams are out of the tunnel. Scott Brown is looking hard as nails, of course. Tina Turner’s Simply the Best belts out of the sound system. Ibrox is roaring.
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Steven Gerrard’s final message to his Rangers players? “Go and deliver.” He says Connor Goldson will play after having a painkiller injection. As for Brendan Rodgers, who clarifies neither Tierney nor Edouard are ready to start this game, he says: “If we get the win we want, we will be in a very good position with a game in hand and a number of points clear. Whatever the result will be at the end of the game, we will be in a good position or a very good position.”
Why will Celtic only have 750 fans at Ibrox? Until this season, both clubs brought around 7,000 fans to each other’s respective ground. But following record season-ticket sales, Rangers decided to dish out more tickets to their own supporters at the expense of the travelling contingent. A club statement at the time declared “our supporters will always comes first”. It works both ways; Rangers took around 800 to Glasgow’s East End in September – with that situation, in theory, benefitting the hosts. Brendan Rodgers suggested the scenario was not clear-cut. “My feeling always is that it is better in both grounds whenever both sets of supporters are there,” Celtic’s manager said. “But it can work for and against you as the home team in that situation, when you have predominately the support in the ground. It can add something to the players, either a positive or a negative.”
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Some essential pre-match reading, courtesy of Ewan Murray:
Steven Gerrard should relish the brief calm that follows Glasgow’s unruly football storm. Rangers’ manager will oversee his 38th competitive fixture of the season – and last before a winter break – as Celtic visit Ibrox on Saturday. Amid a kaleidoscope of emotions, including for Gerrard himself, it has been easy to forget this marks the Liverpool icon’s maiden campaign as a first-team manager.
Team news news: Gerrard tweaks things from Boxing Day, with Scott Arfield and Ryan Kent replacing Lassana Coulibaly and Glenn Middleton. Celtic supporters may feel a little underwhelmed with Brendan Rodgers’s selection for the short trip into Govan, though neither Odsonne Edouard or Kieran Tierney are 100% fit. The 19-year-old Mikey Johnston gets the nod up front. It is no wonder Celtic are keen on signing Weah Jr, the son of the Liberia president:
The teams!
Rangers: McGregor, Tavernier, Goldson, Worrall, Halliday, Jack, McCrorie, Arfield, Kent, Candeias, Morelos
Subs: Foderingham, Wallace, Katic, Lafferty, Coulibaly, Flanagan, Middleton
Celtic: Gordon, Lustig, Boyata, Benkovic, McGregor, Brown, Ntcham, Christie, Forrest, Sinclair, Johnston
Subs: Bain, Edouard, Ajer, Morgan, Hayes, Ralston
Referee: John Beaton
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Preamble
This is the game that means everything to these Glasgow rivals. For Rangers, it is a chance to pull level with the league leaders and, as Steven Gerrard puts it, an opportunity to bring their A game. Celtic are the team to beat, with Brendan Rodgers unbeaten in 12 meetings since taking charge in 2016. Victory at Ibrox this time will make him the first Celtic manager to win five games in a row in Rangers’ back yard for the first time for almost 100 years. If they make it happen then there will only be 750 Celtic fans supporters present to see it, owing to ticket restrictions brought in last summer. “It can work for or against you as a home team,” Rodgers said. Full team news will be on us shortly, but we do know Rangers have a whole host of injury worries – with defenders Connor Goldson and Gareth McAuley MBE both concerns – while the impressive left-back Kieran Tierney could return from a hip injury in a timely boost for Celtic. “At the top of the table, there’s only room to improve and to keep doing well and to keep winning,” Scott Sinclair said. “There is pressure for both teams.”
Kick-off: 12.30pm (GMT)
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