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Trivia
- Rangers fifth game in a row against Celtic without scoring!
Thomas Gravesen scores his first goal for Celtic.
Kenny Miller scores debut goal for Celtic, against his former club!
Review
Miller had the first clear-cut chance of the game after racing clear of Papac to a long ball out of defence. But, with McGregor racing off his line, the attempted lob was high and wide. McGregor blocked clear a powerful effort by Shunsuke Nakamura and did even better when turning away Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink's dipping 20-yard volley at full stretch.
Celtic took the lead when a Neil Lennon cross found the head of the unmarked McGeady eight yards from goal. Although McGregor made a superb block with his right hand, Gravesen was following up to head his first Celtic goal from a couple of yards out.
McGeady almost had his name of the scoresheet with a 25-yard drive that skimmed the top of the crossbar.
Just as Rangers started to apply some pressure, McGeady picked out Miller, who grabbed his first goal since joining Celtic.
Celtic ran out deserved winners of the first Old Firm derby of the season.
Teams
Celtic: (4-4-2):-
Boruc, Telfer, Caldwell, McManus, Naylor, Nakamura (Sno 71), Lennon, Gravesen (Pearson 87), McGeady, Vennegoor of Hesselink, Miller (Zurawski 78).
Subs not used:- Marshall, Maloney, Balde, O'Dea.
Booked:- Vennegoor of Hesselink.
Goals:- Gravesen 35, Miller 74 (Miller’s debut goal for Celtic).
Rangers:
McGregor, Hutton (Sionko 61), Rodriguez (Rae 82), Papac, Smith, Burke (Martin 64), Ferguson, Hemdani, Prso, Adam, Kris Boyd.
Subs not used:- Robinson, Svensson, Sebo, Buffel.
Booked:- Hutton, Martin.
Att: 59,341
Ref: D McDonald.
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
Pictures
KStreet
Articles
Celtic 2-0 Rangers
By Clive Lindsay
BBC
Kenny Miller and Thomas Gravesen scored their first goals for Celtic
Miller and Gravesen scored their first Celtic goals
Kenny Miller broke his Celtic scoring duck as the SPL leaders increased the gap between themselves and city rivals Rangers to seven points.
Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor brilliantly denied Aiden McGeady, but Thomas Gravesen was in the right place to head home the opening goal.
Lee Naylor cleared off the Celtic line, while a Kris Boyd shot struck the bar.
But, by then, Rangers were two behind, McGeady's through ball having set up Miller to poke home for a deserved win.
Interview: Celtic manager Gordon Strachan
Interview: Rangers manager Paul Le Guen
The former Rangers striker had been preferred to Maciej Zurawski in the Celtic attack and was about to be replaced with the Pole before striking that decisive goal.
Sasa Papac had started ahead of Karl Svensson in the Rangers defence alongside Julien Rodriguez after an impressive midweek display.
Boyd was given a start, being paired with Prso up front.
However, it was Boyd's Scotland team-mate, Miller, who had the first clear-cut chance of the game after racing clear of Papac to a long ball out of defence.
But, with McGregor racing off his line, the attempted lob was high and wide.
Rangers looked less dangerous with an equal amount of possession, although Charlie Adam did threaten the goal with a low, curling free-kick.
McGregor blocked clear a powerful effort by Shunsuke Nakamura and did even better when turning away Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink's dipping 20-yard volley at full stretch.
Boyd powered a header over the bar from 10 yards, but Celtic had started to dominate possession.
Rangers captain Barry Ferguson seemed shocked by the defeat
Rangers' Barry Ferguson seemed shocked by the defeat
And they took the lead when a Neil Lennon cross found the head of the unmarked McGeady eight yards from goal.
Although McGregor made a superb block with his right hand, Gravesen was following up to head his first Celtic goal from a couple of yards out.
McGeady almost had his name of the scoresheet with a 25-yard drive that skimmed the top of the crossbar.
Rangers looked to have been denied a penalty when Gary Caldwell appeared to prevent a Barry Ferguson cross reaching Adam's head with his hand.
Boyd squandered a chance when he blasted over from 20 yards after a fine chip through by Ferguson.
But, just as Rangers started to apply some pressure, McGeady picked out Miller, who grabbed his first goal since joining Celtic.
Lee Naylor had to hook the ball off the Celtic line from a Prso header and, after an excellent through ball from the Croat, Boyd clipped the top of the bar with a shot on the turn.
But it was Celtic who ran out deserved winners of the first Old Firm derby of the season.
Celtic: Boruc, Telfer, Caldwell, McManus, Naylor, Nakamura (Sno 71), Lennon, Gravesen (Pearson 87), McGeady, Vennegoor of Hesselink, Miller (Zurawski 78).
Subs Not Used: Marshall, Maloney, Balde, O'Dea.
Booked: Vennegoor of Hesselink.
Goals: Gravesen 35, Miller 74.
Rangers: McGregor, Hutton (Sionko 61), Rodriguez (Rae 82), Papac, Smith, Burke (Martin 64), Ferguson, Hemdani, Prso, Adam, Kris Boyd.
Subs Not Used: Robinson, Svensson, Sebo, Buffel.
Booked: Hutton, Martin.
Att: 59,341
Ref: D McDonald
Strachan praises team and Rangers
BBC
Gordon Strachan was delighted to win what he thought was the best footballing Old Firm derby he had been involved in as Celtic manager.
"I thought it was a great game," he said after the 2-0 victory.
"It was the best in terms of football that I have been involved in, with both teams having a go at each other."
Strachan was not counting Rangers out the title race despite a seven-point lead and said: "It's a satisfying position, but that is all it is."
Interview: Celtic manager Gordon Strachan
The Celtic manager praised Kenny Miller, who scored his first goal since joining the club in the summer.
"It was a relief for him and the colour is back in his face," said Strachan.
Aiden McGeady was fantastic
Gordon Strachan
"If ever a striker wants an example of what to do when not scoring goals.
"You just become a great team player and that's what he's done."
Strachan also picked up one of his midfielders for special praise.
"Aiden McGeady was fantastic today," he said.
"For 20 minutes, Rangers were exceptional, but I thought our defence was excellent as well."
Strachan now can turn his attention to the Champions League meeting with Copenhagen.
"We didn't start the season well, but after the transfer window closed we had the chance to work on things in training and it will be a good feeling for a couple of days," he said.
Strachan did not think there were any serious injury problems from the win at Celtic Park.
"Thomas Gravesen thinks he's broke his hand, but I told him that you play football with your feet and not your hand," he added.
Le Guen says Rangers will improve
BBC
Rangers manager Paul Le Guen was not too downhearted after losing to Celtic and slipping seven points behind in the Scottish championship race.
"We fought well and, even at 2-0 down, I had a feeling we could come back," he told BBC Radio Scotland. "We created chances, but we could not score.
"I'm disappointed, but we will find the solution. We showed we are not so far behind the best team in Scotland.
"We have quality – not enough – but we must improve and we will manage."
Interview: Rangers manager Paul Le Guen
Only one of Le Guen's many summer signings started the game at Celtic Park and goals from Thomas Gravesen and Kenny Miller gave the home side the win.
"I will do my best, but there are no miracles in football," added Le Guen.
"I was aware that it would be a difficult task, but we must keep our heads up and be ready.
"We must stick together and, if the players keep this state of mind, we will find the solution."
Rangers captain Barry Ferguson saw team-mates Dado Prso and Kris Boyd go close and was frustrated to be leaving Celtic Park without at least a point.
"It's disappointing because I thought, at times, we dominated the game but it's all about scoring goals," he told BBC Sport.
"We now need to pick ourselves up and get this defeat out of our system."
Stroll in the sun
(S Herald)
Michael Grant at Celtic Park
PRESUMABLY the fool who first said that the form book goes out of the window in Old Firm games has gone into hiding. Celtic, the heavy favourites, lived up to their billing with a comfortable victory which delivered every one of the headaches which had been predicted for Rangers manager Paul Le Guen.
Rangers have won on only one of their last 16 visits to Parkhead. The fact that the sorry sequence was amassed by his predecessors is irrelevant to how the Frenchman is being perceived.
In moving seven points clear of Rangers after eight matches, Celtic can revel in the sort of superiority which will have Le Guen reaching for the paracetamol.
An exciting derby, without the sluggishness which sometimes undermines those which kick-off at lunchtime, was won when goals from Celtic's big summer signings, Thomas Gravesen and Kenny Miller – scoring his first goal after 16 Celtic appearances – crushed a Rangers team which lacked the substance to survive an Old Firm game.
It was a bad day for the club all round given that their supporters did not meet the anti-sectarianism challenge put to them by David Murray and captain Barry Ferguson.
Chants about 'Fenians' and the Pope came loud and clear from the away end, particularly in the second half, in defiance of how they have been advised to behave by the club and Uefa.
The Celtic support's contribution was to sing to Le Guen, a Catholic, that he was an Òorange bastardÓ who should cheer up. This was the first derby since banning orders were introduced for discriminatory chanting, and too many did not care.
Whatever forward steps Rangers and Celtic have been able to take, an Old Firm fixture is still liable to set them back a few centuries.
For those concerned with the actual football, there was what amounted to an admission of failure from Le Guen before a ball was kicked.
Even allowing for the fact Lionel Letizi and Jeremy Clement were injured and Phil Bardsley suspended, it was an indictment of his recent transfer market judgment that the starting team contained only one of his 11 signings.
Effectively he attempted to draw a winning performance from a set of players who had proved to be unfit for the task under his predecessor.
Rangers had three Old Firm debutants in from the start and Celtic four Ð not counting ex-Ranger Miller Ð which underlined the fact that Gordon Strachan has been able to buy the finished article.
Le Guen has assembled an assortment of unproven, unknown names. If Karl Svensson, Libor Sionko and Filip Sebo are not considered suitable for the only domestic fixture which truly matters to Rangers, having all been at the the club for several weeks at the very least, then will they ever be ready?
All of them were on the bench, spectators to a performance which revealed the gulf in quality between the two Old Firm squads.
Rangers had other disappointments. Kris Boyd has never scored against Celtic in 15 appearances and only looked likely to do so when he won his only tussle of the day against the excellent Gary Caldwell and crashed a shot off the top of the crossbar.
Rangers' most menacing operator was Dado Prso, whose sporadic surges displayed the spirit and physical presence which was otherwise lacking in his side.
One rampaging run away left Gravesen and Neil Lennon trailing in his slipstream and briefly lifted Rangers' spirits, winning them an inviting free-kick on the edge of the area. Ferguson struck it lamely into the wall and there would have been a few in the Rangers end who envied their opponents for having a dead ball specialist like Shunsuke Nakamura.
Rangers managed only one attempt on target in the whole match and that was down to Prso too, his firm header forcing Lee Naylor into a goal-line clearance at the back post. Celtic did not have to be outstanding to confirm themselves a class above their opponents. Caldwell and Stephen McManus were faultless in their first game as a partnership against Rangers, providing the cornerstone of Celtic's win.
Rangers have juggled their defensive options this season but whatever back four they send out, it is crippled by poor positioning, a lack of ruggedness and an absence of organisation.
A Miller lob and shots from Nakamura and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, the latter pair forcing excellent saves from Allan McGregor, might have had Celtic ahead earlier during a first half they controlled.
Their goal came when no-one closed down Neil Lennon before he crossed from the right into a defensive vacuum at the six yard box.
Aiden McGeady was unchallenged for a header which brought a good stop from McGregor. No Rangers player was close enough to react to the rebound as it spun up and fell at the back post, where Gravesen bundled it over the line.
Gravesen was quietly effective in a game which lacked any central figure or villain, though the spectacle was none the worse for it.
Lennon cupped his ear to the Rangers support at one point, as if obeying a personal bylaw that he must try to wind-up the opposition at least once in every derby.
Rangers' young Scottish full-backs could not prevent a steady delivery from the wings for Celtic, and the concession of such a routine goal instantly eroded the morale in Le Guen's team.
Celtic had chances to extend their lead through a McGeady shot which kissed the crossbar and then a rising effort from Nakamura.
At that point there was little to suggest Rangers would offer more than grim resistance for the remainder of the match. Although they did so, producing a phase of spirited play early in the second half, there was a sense of raggedness about them which was reflected in Le Guen's decision to switch to a back three with half an hour left.
Their unfamiliar line-up immediately looked vulnerable to Celtic's pace. Although Strachan was on the brink of replacing him with Maciej Zurawski, Miller latched on to McGeady's pass to hold off the despairing Ferguson and jab a low shot past McGregor.
Parkhead revelled in it, sensing that it would hurt Rangers even more to have been floored by a player they had not considered good enough to wear light blue.
That was back in 2001, of course. For Rangers, yesterday confirmed that standards are not what they used to be.