2021-05-02: TheRangers 4-1 Celtic, SP

Match Pictures | Matches: 2020 – 2021

Trivia

12pm Sunday KO. Sky TV
Final meeting of the two this season in any competition. Celtic now not defeated Sevco all season, in five games. One draw.
John Kennedy still interim manager. Eddie Howe clear favourite for manager role but talks ongoing. DoF role still undecided.
First game for Celtic in ten days, last meeting two weeks ago between these two sides saw Sevco end Celtic’s hunt for silverware this season (Scottish Cup defeat).
Sevco lost during interim period to St Johnstone in the Scottish Cup, so all 4x big sides out the Cup. This means also that none of Hearts, Aberdeen, Celtic and Sevco got to Hampden this season (exc postponed Scottish Cup final). Incredible! Hibs, St Johnstone and St Mirren – six cup semifinal appearances between them this season. Celtic and Rangers – zero.
League challenge is already long over for Celtic. Sevco league champions by large points margin.
Klimala leaves permanently and signs for NY Red Bulls. Some reports claim for 3.5m.
Christie acc to reports to sign pre contracts in summer and leave Celtic. Contract up in December.
Manny Pérez leaves Celtic. He was stuck in the USA for two years and never played for Celtic’s first team. Moved to Portland Timbers, all for the best.
Celtic: “We will unite with clubs across Scotland for a social media boycott this weekend. The boycott is in response to racist, discriminatory and personal abuse online aimed at players, staff, supporters and others associated with the game”
A staggering 87% of Celtic’s goals conceded in all competitions this season have come within 30 seconds of a set piece being conceded, the highest percentage in football history. As it stands, this beats the record of 65% set by Steaua Bucharest in the 2008/2009 season. (@allcaps67 on twitter using OptaPro data)
Premier Sports has become the new title sponsor of the Scottish League Cup and will now be exclusive broadcaster of the ‘Premier Sports Cup’ until at least the end of season 2026/27. They already do the Scottish Cup too.
Pyramid play-off between Kelty Hearts and Brora Rangers will go ahead. Winner will play bottom of League 2, SPFL has ruled. As things stand, that’s Brechin City
Inv Caley and Raith Rovers announced as joint winners of the 2019/20 Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer Challenge Cup. Final cancelled.
Euros: Wembley will host extra game after Dublin stripped of its four fixtures by UEFA.
Albion Rovers: “We stand with David Cox. The unforgivable incident that occurred during tonight’s match must not be downplayed. David, you have all at Albion Rovers and Scottish football’s unconditional support.” Stenhousemuir player told David Cox, a survivor of an attempt to end his own life, that he “should have done it right first time”. David Cox immediately announced his retirement from football. All stand by him.
Manchester United’s Premier League in England game against Liverpool has been postponed following protests by Manchester United fans at Old Trafford against the club’s owners, inc invading stadium pre match etc.
Ex-Celtic Frank Brogan passed away on May 4th. RIP.

Covid

India in crisis, worst in the world now.
UK coming out of worst, country opening up.

Summary

JK: “We have to turn it around and at a club like Celtic you have to win silverware. It’s very much about the next game being Rangers and can we set our stall out to make this the starting point for the next era for success.”

John Kennedy soon

Wasn’t to be, and a contentious sending off got McGregor meant it was a hard ask to be able to win this match. BUT that can’t be used as an excuse overall, it was a dire performance with the team lacking morale and tactics.

(jim62 of KDS)

Where do you start…. an absolute embarrassment of a season ….clear out needed from top to bottom

Board have been utterly negligent….management and coaching has been beyond abysmal

£5m each ( allegedly ) on Barkas and Ajeti…for absolutely zero return…Barkas appears to be unique in being the only goalkeeper in the world who seem to have no arms ??

How much has been wasted on Loan fees and wages for Duffy, Lazalt and Kenny who are possibly the three worst defenders I’ve ever seen at Celtic ( and I’m old enough to have watched luminaries like Wille Garner and Ian McWilliams ) …could we not have spent that money on three players who would be ours ?

Elyounoussi…another one on loan with the heart of a mouse

Griffiths…a complete waster and wage thief who should have been dumped years ago

Continual fielding of a 36 year old captain who has been done for a year and whose contribution today amounted to being nutmegged before the second goal and standing absolutely still at the third while the scorer ran away from him

Ryan Christie …world record setting season for taking hopeless shots from outside the box

McGregor …his regression over the last two years is only bettered by that of Edouard

But the buck stops with two men…Lawwell and Desmond …took £9m from Leicester for Rodgers and replaced him with Lennon ( a man sacked by Hibs) and then sat nothing this year doing absolutely nothing while the whole shebang has been on fire around them…gubbed at home by Ferencvaros…thumped 8-2 on aggregate by Sparta Prague reserves …knocked out of the League Cup at home by Ross County ( who actually sacked their manager just two weeks later!) …trip to Dubai during a lockdown with blindingly obvious consequences….and at no point did they do anything to change course….indeed almost literally told the fans that we knew nothing and could eff off

(Reiver of KDS)

The amber light was flashing after the 2019 LCF. The red light flashed alarmingly after the Ferencvaros fiasco.

It’s been a season of unrelenting failure. A catastrophic fall from power. The common denominator?

A bunch of completely dysfunctional and myopic “custodians” – who have sat in utter silence as the walls of Celtic Park have come crashing down around them. It starts with the Ballsbridge phantom and percolates all the way down to our still very interfering “retired” CEO. And oh, all their wee pals who’ve cushy jobs at Celtic Park.

Having, fortunately, not watched any of yesterday’s latest capitulation – I don’t know if Dominic MacKay was sat in the stand at Ibrox. If he was – what were his thoughts on the monumental job he has ahead of him? Well, if he had any thoughts – we know abosultely nothing of them. In fact nobody at Celtic Park says anything – of any importance. It’s silence and chain fences.

God help this sorry lot when the supporters are let back in. Well, the one’s who are still willing to actually pay to support this sorry collection of men posing as Celtic footballers. What cunning plan does our “retired” CEO have up his sleeve to sell another season’s worth of tickets (and tat) to a support he obviously holds in such contempt? Good luck with that.

(SW of KDS)

Talk about reaping what you sow. What this highlights is a collective lack of professionalism. Sevco are nothing special, but they are organised, work hard and they make sure any team has to work hard just to score against them. But we’ve been shown up in that regard by poorer teams than them this season.

Number one rule is do not give up easy goals. It’s very simple. Ajer looks great strolling forward, but it means nothing if 2 CB’s miss a cross and allow the free header for the 3rd goal. We have been routinely humiliated by pretty functional Sevco side. Mismanagement has reduced us to a laughing stock, and it’s the fans who have the bear the brunt of it.

Can only hope McKay coming in early is an acknowledgement of the serious rebuilding job ahead.

Teams

Celtic:

29Bain
16Kenny
57Welsh
35Ajer
3Taylor
8Brown Substituted forSoroat 60’minutes
42McGregorBooked at 26mins, second yellow & red (26)
49Forrest Substituted forChristieat 60’minutes
14Turnbull
27ElyounoussiBooked at 63mins
22Edouard Substituted forJohnstonat 75′

Substitutes
    1Barkas
    6Bitton
    9Griffiths
    10Ajeti
    12Soro
    17Christie
    19Johnston
    56Ralston
    93Laxalt

Goals: Edouard (30′ minutes)

Assists: Ajer (30′ minutes)

Sevco

1McGregor

2Tavernier

6Goldson

4SimpsonBooked at 17mins

31Barisic

Substituted forWrightat 79’minutes

18Kamara

10Davis

14Kent

17Aribo

25Roofe

Substituted forDefoeat 86’minutes

20Morelos

Substituted forHagiat 84′

Substitutes

7Hagi
9Defoe
11Itten
23Wright
24Stewart
33McLaughlin
61King

Goals:

Roofe (26′ minutes, 57′ minutes), Morelos (33′ minutes), Defoe (90’+2 minutes)

Assists:

Kent (26′ minutes), Barisic (57′ minutes), Hagi (90’+2 minutes)

Ref: Nick Walsh

Att: none – covid

Articles

Match Report (see below)

Pictures

Match Pictures

Match Links

Stats

Rangers

Celtic

Possession

Home51%

Away49%

Shots

Home18

Away12

Shots on Target

Home9

Away3

Corners

Home5

Away9

Fouls

Home10

Away14

Articles

How Rangers hammered home their superiority over Celtic on another wretched day for the deposed champions

In a Premiership campaign which has seen them so far ahead of the rest in every metric you care to mention, Rangers reiterated their new found dominance over Celtic in emphatic fashion at Ibrox.

By Stephen Halliday

Sunday, 2nd May 2021, 3:51 pm

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/rangers/how-rangers-hammered-home-their-superiority-over-celtic-on-another-wretched-day-for-the-deposed-champions-3222235

For the first time in 21 years, Rangers have completed an undefeated top flight season in Old Firm matches after they inflicted a painful 4-1 defeat on their great rivals.

It was another dispiriting afternoon for Celtic in what has been a season chock-full of them for the deposed champions. A double from Kemar Roofe and strikes by Alfredo Morelos and Jermain Defoe gave Rangers their biggest margin of victory in this fixture since a 3-0 win under Walter Smith in October 2007.

Turning point

Kemar Roofe guides the ball home with his chesr to give Rangers the breakthrough against Celtic at Ibrox. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

There were mitigating circumstances for Celtic interim manager John Kennedy whose team had to play for over an hour with 10 men after Callum McGregor was sent off for two bookable offences committed within two minutes of each other.

It was a miserable end to Celtic captain Scott Brown’s involvement in Old Firm combat, the midfielder substituted after an hour as he counts down his final days in the Glasgow goldfish bowl before joining Aberdeen.

It remains to be seen how many of his team-mates will also be moving on in a summer revamp of significant proportions for putative new Celtic head coach Eddie Howe.

For Rangers manager Steven Gerrard, this was another gratifying afternoon and a vibrant response from his team to their shock Scottish Cup quarter-final elimination by St Johnstone seven days earlier.

Celtic goalkeeper Scott Bain is beaten by a powerful shot from Alfredo Morelos (not pictured) as Rangers make it 2-1 at Ibrox. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

History beckons

They are now just two games away, against Livingston and Aberdeen, from recording only the fourth unbeaten top flight campaign in the 131-year history of league football in Scotland.

Rangers were worthy winners in the end, although prior to McGregor’s dismissal, Celtic had dominated possession and could consider themselves unfortunate to fall behind to Roofe’s first goal.

Mohamed Elyounoussi was prominent as they made the livelier start, albeit Morelos missed the clearest chance of the early stages when he was unable to sort out his feet properly and failed to convert from close range after being picked out by a brilliant James Tavernier cross.

Celtic midfielder Callum McGregor is sent off for a second bookable offence committed in the build up to Rangers’ second goal at Ibrox. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

As Celtic continued to probe at the other end, James Forrest saw a shot inadvertently blocked by his team-mate David Turnbull before Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor pulled another top drawer save from his repertoire when he touched a dipping shot from Elyounoussi onto his crossbar.

McGregor sees red

But the momentum swung in Rangers’ favour when they went ahead in the 26th minute. Callum McGregor, booked for a foul on Ryan Kent just two minutes earlier, clattered clumsily into Glen Kamara.

Referee Nick Walsh, taking charge of his first Old Firm fixture, waved play on and Rangers seized the advantage as Kent, a real thorn in the visitors’ side, and Joe Aribo combined to cut through the Celtic defence. Kent’s shot was miscued but Roofe reacted smartly to guide the ball beyond Scott Bain with his chest.

Celtic’s misery was compounded when Walsh called McGregor over and issued him with his second caution.

Before Rangers could fully impose themselves on their short-handed opponents, however, Celtic hit back with a 30th minute equaliser. It was another poorly conceded goal from a corner from Rangers’ perspective as Kristoffer Ajer was able to head Turnbull’s set piece back across the six yard box for Edouard to force home his 21st goal of the season despite the efforts of Steven Davis on the line to keep it out.

Majestic Morelos

As the now breathless action continued, Rangers were back in front two minutes later. It was a majestic finish from Morelos, making up for his earlier aberration, as the Colombian international cut in from the right and cutely eluded Brown’s challenge before smashing a left foot shot high beyond the startled Bain.

With Elyounoussi dropping deeper and Forrest moving inside to play beside Edouard, Celtic reshuffled into a 4-3-2 formation as they looked to try and stay on the front foot as much as possible.

Forrest, watched from the directors’ box by Scotland manager Steve Clarke, should have done better with a shot which deflected wide off Barisic before Rangers needed a perceptive and superbly timed tackle from Davis to deny Edouard what looked likely to be a second equaliser.

Turnbull headed a Forrest cross wide from close range early in the second half but Rangers put themselves firmly in control when Roofe made it 3-1 in the 57th minute.

Roofe on fire

The English forward fed the ball wide to Barisic before making a run into the penalty area which wasn’t tracked by the Celtic defence. When Barisic’s floated cross arrived, Roofe was there to meet it with a firm header beyond the exposed Bain.

That was the cue for Brown to take his leave of the Old Firm stage for the last time, the veteran midfielder cutting a subdued figure as he was replaced by Ismaila Soro.

The final stages effectively saw Rangers in cruise control, albeit a late injury to Barisic further stretched their defensive options and saw Aribo filling in at left-back.

Rangers finished off the job in style, however, when Defoe claimed his first Old Firm goal with an excellent individual effort. The veteran striker turned Celtic defender Stephen Welsh inside out as he danced into the penalty area before steering a precise low shot beyond Bain.

Rangers (4-3-3): McGregor, Tavernier, Goldson, Simpson, Barisic (Wright 79); Kamara, Davis, Aribo; Roofe (Defoe 86), Morelos (Hagi 84), Kent. Subs not used: McLaughlin, Itten, Stewart, King.

Celtic (4-2-3-1): Bain, Kenny, Ajer, Welsh, Taylor; Brown (Soro 60), McGregor; Forrest (Christie 60), Turnbull, Elyounoussi; Edouard (Johnston 75). Subs not used: Barkas, Bitton, Griffiths, Ajeti, Ralston, Laxalt.

BBC

By Thomas DuncanBBC Scotland

Last updated on

6 hours ago6 hours ago.From the section Scottish Premiership

Rangers v Celtic

Kemar Roofe scored in each half as Rangers earned their fourth win in five Old Firm games this season

Rangers underlined their status as the Scottish Premiership’s dominant side with a third Old Firm league victory of the season against 10-man Celtic.

The game sprang to life with three goals and a red card for Celtic’s Callum McGregor within seven first-half minutes.

The midfielder saw red after Kemar Roofe’s opener, but Odsonne Edouard levelled before Alfredo Morelos smashed the champions back ahead, Roofe added his second and Jermain Defoe slid in a late fourth.

The victory means Rangers are two games away from an unbeaten league campaign, which would match their city rivals’ feat of 2016-17.

Celtic are already sure of second spot but trail their rivals by a galling 23 points, and have gone a full season without winning a derby for the first time since 1999-2000, losing four out of five games to Rangers in all competitions.

Rangers targeted Celtic defence – Gerrard

McGregor red cost Celtic – Kennedy

Podcast: ‘Rangers ran away with it in the end’

Reaction & as it happened

It was a sobering end to Celtic captain Scott Brown’s 14-year association with this fixture as the midfielder – who is joining Aberdeen next season – was replaced on the hour.

The reversal of supremacy in Glasgow football has been evident for some time now, given Rangers’ canter to a first league title for 10 years.

As a result, this was as close as you could get to a meaningless match between the sides, with the prospect of ruining Rangers’ unbeaten league run the only real boon for Celtic.

John Kennedy’s side have, at times, had the better of the play in the last three derbies, but Rangers have shown far more capable of stepping up in big moments, and so it proved here.

Goalkeeper Allan McGregor – outstanding all season – produced another terrific stop by touching Mohamed Elyounoussi’s shot on to the crossbar, an intervention which ultimately led to the opening goal.

Rangers went up the other end, Ryan Kent’s shot flew in front of Roofe, who showed fantastic presence of mind to divert the ball into the net with his chest.

As the Rangers players ran to celebrate their goal, Celtic’s McGregor was remonstrating with referee Nick Walsh, having been shown a second yellow inside three minutes for scything down Glen Kamara in the build-up.

From that moment, it looked ominous for the visitors, but Edouard nodded in after Kristoffer Ajer’s knock-down at a corner to provide an almost instant riposte and keep the game alive and intriguing.

But a symptom of the turnaround in these sides’ fortunes is the ability of one to go about their business with ruthless efficiency, while the other lacks conviction in every department.

Morelos demonstrated this perfectly as he jinked inside Brown before thumping the ball past a flailing Scott Bain and high into the net to restore Rangers’ supremacy.

It was a position that Gerrard’s side never looked like relinquishing, with diving headers from David Turnbull and Elyounoussi as close as Celtic came to an equaliser.

Instead, Borna Barisic teed up Roofe to head home Rangers’ third, with the English forward given the freedom of the Celtic box to pick his spot.

Defoe was afforded similar scope inside the penalty era, skipping past a weak challenge from Stephen Welsh to slide in a fourth goal and complete the rout.

Another routine win for Rangers. Another soul-sapping defeat for Celtic.

Man of the match – Ryan Kent

Kent (far right), was a joy to watch as he terrorised Celtic players with his pace and footwork

What did we learn?

Not a great deal, as it turns out. Rangers are just a better team than Celtic. Even when things are not going their way – as has been the case at times in recent derbies – there is just an assuredness about them.

Their system and roles are so well honed that they rarely look rattled or in serious trouble, and they have players who, at different times, step up when it matters. McGregor – even at 39 – is a big-game performer, Kent has grown into a talismanic figure, and Roofe and Morelos share the goalscoring burden.

Their only regret will be that this excellent campaign will end with only one trophy.

For everything that can be said about Rangers, the opposite applies to Celtic. Even when creating clear-cut chances, they never seem likely to score, which is probably a symptom of their confidence-shattering season.

Even their stalwarts such as Brown and McGregor, cornerstones of their quadruple treble success, look shadows of themselves, and Edouard’s value has plummeted in the last 12 months.

The task facing their next manager seems to grow more daunting with every passing week.

What they said

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard on Sky Sports: “It’s a big rival and an important game. Doesn’t matter what’s at stake. It was a really strong performance. We’ve ran away with it in the end.

“[The red card] It made it easier, I’m not going to lie. These games are always decided by big moments. It was a fantastic goal and I thought the referee got the decision right.”

Celtic interim manager John Kennedy on Sky Sports: “It’s a sore one. Going down to 10 men puts you on the back foot but we managed to create within that. Rangers were more clinical once again but the sending off is the big part of the game.

“It didn’t quite fall into place today. I’m disappointed with the result, massively. But as you can see I’m a bit annoyed with the sending off.”

Match ends, Rangers 4, Celtic 1.

90’+3′

Full Time

Second Half ends, Rangers 4, Celtic 1.

90’+3′

Post update

Jack Simpson (Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

90’+3′

Post update

Foul by David Turnbull (Celtic).

90’+2′

Goal!

Goal! Rangers 4, Celtic 1. Jermain Defoe (Rangers) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Ianis Hagi.

90’+1′

Post update

Foul by Steven Davis (Rangers).

90’+1′

Post update

David Turnbull (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

90’+1′

Post update

Offside, Rangers. Glen Kamara tries a through ball, but Jermain Defoe is caught offside.

90′

Post update

Steven Davis (Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

90′

Post update

Foul by Michael Johnston (Celtic).

87′

Post update

Foul by Ianis Hagi (Rangers).

87′

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Ismaila Soro (Celtic) wins a free kick on the left wing.

86′

Substitution

Substitution, Rangers. Jermain Defoe replaces Kemar Roofe.

86′

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Offside, Celtic. Scott Bain tries a through ball, but Michael Johnston is caught offside.

84′

Substitution

Substitution, Rangers. Ianis Hagi replaces Alfredo Morelos because of an injury.

82′

Post update

Attempt missed. Mohamed Elyounoussi (Celtic) header from the left side of the six yard box is close, but misses the top left corner. Assisted by Jonjoe Kenny with a cross.

80′

Post update

Attempt saved. Ryan Kent (Rangers) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Kemar Roofe.

80′

Post update

Attempt missed. Kristoffer Ajer (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Ismaila Soro.

79′

Substitution

Substitution, Rangers. Scott Wright replaces Borna Barisic.

76′

Post update

Joe Aribo (Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

76′

Post update

Foul by Mohamed Elyounoussi (Celtic).

75′

Post update

Foul by Ryan Kent (Rangers).

75′

Post update

Ryan Christie (Celtic) wins a free kick on the left wing.

75′

Substitution

Substitution, Celtic. Michael Johnston replaces Odsonne Edouard.

74′

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Ryan Kent (Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

74′

Post update

Foul by David Turnbull (Celtic).

73′

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Foul by Steven Davis (Rangers).

73′

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Mohamed Elyounoussi (Celtic) wins a free kick on the left wing.

70′

Post update

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Alfredo Morelos.

69′

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Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Connor Goldson.

69′

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Attempt blocked. Odsonne Edouard (Celtic) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.

65′

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Corner, Rangers. Conceded by Ryan Christie.

65′

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Attempt blocked. Joe Aribo (Rangers) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.

65′

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Attempt blocked. Steven Davis (Rangers) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Alfredo Morelos.

65′

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Corner, Rangers. Conceded by Greg Taylor.

64′

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Kemar Roofe (Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

64′

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Foul by Jonjoe Kenny (Celtic).

63′

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Foul by Connor Goldson (Rangers).

63′

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Kristoffer Ajer (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

63′

Booking

Mohamed Elyounoussi (Celtic) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

63′

Post update

Corner, Rangers. Conceded by Kristoffer Ajer.

63′

Post update

Attempt saved. Alfredo Morelos (Rangers) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Ryan Kent.

60′

Substitution

Substitution, Celtic. Ryan Christie replaces James Forrest.

60′

Substitution

Substitution, Celtic. Ismaila Soro replaces Scott Brown.

57′

Goal!

Goal! Rangers 3, Celtic 1. Kemar Roofe (Rangers) header from the centre of the box to the top left corner. Assisted by Borna Barisic with a cross.

56′

Post update

Ryan Kent (Rangers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

56′

Post update

Foul by Stephen Welsh (Celtic).

55′

Post update

Attempt missed. David Turnbull (Celtic) header from very close range misses to the left. Assisted by James Forrest with a cross.

55′

Post update

Attempt blocked. Odsonne Edouard (Celtic) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Mohamed Elyounoussi.

53′

Post update

Attempt missed. Kemar Roofe (Rangers) header from the centre of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Ryan Kent with a cross.

51′

Post update

Offside, Rangers. Steven Davis tries a through ball, but Alfredo Morelos is caught offside.

Second Half

Second Half begins Rangers 2, Celtic 1.

45’+1′

Half Time

First Half ends, Rangers 2, Celtic 1.

44′

Post update

Foul by Jonjoe Kenny (Celtic).

44′

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Glen Kamara (Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

43′

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Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Steven Davis.

41′

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Attempt saved. Odsonne Edouard (Celtic) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by David Turnbull with a cross.

41′

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Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Alfredo Morelos.

40′

Post update

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Borna Barisic.

40′

Post update

Attempt blocked. James Forrest (Celtic) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Kristoffer Ajer.

38′

Post update

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Connor Goldson.

37′

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Foul by Scott Brown (Celtic).

37′

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Steven Davis (Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

36′

Post update

Odsonne Edouard (Celtic) wins a free kick on the left wing.

36′

Post update

Foul by James Tavernier (Rangers).

36′

Post update

Attempt saved. Alfredo Morelos (Rangers) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Kemar Roofe.

33′

Goal!

Goal! Rangers 2, Celtic 1. Alfredo Morelos (Rangers) left footed shot from the right side of the box to the top right corner following a corner.

32′

Post update

Attempt blocked. Connor Goldson (Rangers) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Borna Barisic with a cross.

32′

Post update

Corner, Rangers. Conceded by Scott Bain.

32′

Post update

Attempt saved. Joe Aribo (Rangers) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Ryan Kent.

31′

Post update

Kristoffer Ajer (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

31′

Post update

Foul by Alfredo Morelos (Rangers).

31′

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Attempt saved. Kemar Roofe (Rangers) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.

31′

Post update

Attempt blocked. Kemar Roofe (Rangers) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by James Tavernier with a cross.

30′

Goal!

Goal! Rangers 1, Celtic 1. Odsonne Edouard (Celtic) header from very close range to the high centre of the goal. Assisted by Kristoffer Ajer with a headed pass following a corner.

29′

Post update

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Allan McGregor.

26′

Dismissal

Second yellow card to Callum McGregor (Celtic) for a bad foul.

26′

Goal!

Goal! Rangers 1, Celtic 0. Kemar Roofe (Rangers) with an attempt from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Ryan Kent.

26′

Post update

Attempt blocked. Ryan Kent (Rangers) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Joe Aribo.

25′

Post update

Attempt saved. Mohamed Elyounoussi (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Scott Brown.

24′

Booking

Callum McGregor (Celtic) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

23′

Post update

Foul by Callum McGregor (Celtic).

23′

Post update

Ryan Kent (Rangers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

21′

Post update

Stephen Welsh (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

21′

Post update

Foul by Kemar Roofe (Rangers).

19′

Post update

Attempt missed. Ryan Kent (Rangers) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left.

17′

Booking

Jack Simpson (Rangers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

17′

Post update

Odsonne Edouard (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

17′

Post update

Foul by Jack Simpson (Rangers).

15′

Post update

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Glen Kamara.

15′

Post update

Attempt blocked. James Forrest (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by David Turnbull.

9′

Post update

Foul by Scott Brown (Celtic).

9′

Post update

Ryan Kent (Rangers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

9′

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Attempt missed. Jack Simpson (Rangers) header from the centre of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Borna Barisic with a cross following a corner.

8′

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Corner, Rangers. Conceded by Stephen Welsh.

8′

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Attempt missed. Joe Aribo (Rangers) left footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Ryan Kent.

8′

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Foul by Callum McGregor (Celtic).

8′

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Glen Kamara (Rangers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

7′

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Foul by Mohamed Elyounoussi (Celtic).

7′

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James Tavernier (Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

5′

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Foul by Mohamed Elyounoussi (Celtic).

5′

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Alfredo Morelos (Rangers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

4′

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Foul by Scott Brown (Celtic).

4′

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Allan McGregor (Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

4′

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Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Connor Goldson.

4′

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Attempt blocked. Mohamed Elyounoussi (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.

2′

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Jonjoe Kenny (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

2′

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Foul by Kemar Roofe (Rangers).

2′

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Attempt blocked. Mohamed Elyounoussi (Celtic) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Odsonne Edouard.

Kick Off

First Half begins.

Posted at 13:1413:14

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Lineups are announced and players are warming up.

Scott Brown shows why it is right time to leave Celtic in final Rangers derby

The struggles of Scott Brown in Celtic’s engine room in his desperate derby bow of a 4-1 defeat maybe gave an indication of why the 35-year-old has elected to move to Aberdeen for the closing chapter of his career.

By Andrew Smith

Monday, 3rd May 2021, 7:00 am

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/scott-brown-shows-why-it-is-right-time-to-leave-celtic-in-final-rangers-derby-3222344

Perhaps it is harsh to judge Brown, who at one stage was mocked by his long-time adversary in the fixture, Alfredo Morelos, on an encounter wherein Celtic were forced to play with 10-men for 66 minutes following the loss of the veteran’s midfielder partner Callum McGregor to a red card for two bookable offences.

Yet in his 44th appearance in the confrontation – which leaves him with a 50% win record – he did not appear the commanding presence of old. He looked off the pace even in his one-to-one battles, and it was no surprise to see him replaced by Ismaila Soro after an hour. Brown’s personality may be as strong as ever behind the scenes, but he cannot always marry that to powerhouse showings in the most pressurised games that Celtic play, as was true as he suffered a 16th defeat in the match-up.

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Brown patently did not simply fade away as a player at Celtic who has helped his team to 21 honours, with nine straight championships and a quadruple treble across his epic 14 years with the club. The last of which has left the entire Celtic community, never mind their leader, utterly burned.

Typical of Brown that as he lamented a season for failure against Rangers – the Ibrox side now unbeaten in six for the first time since 2002 – the personal was not his focus.

“It’s not about me, it’s about the team ultimately and it has been throughout,” he said. “There have been ups and downs but this is definitely a low blow for us. We’ve come here and had some fantastic games and today we didn’t deserve 4-1 but it’s hard when you go down to ten men as well. The lads fought, the effort was there, it was just always going to be a hard performance with 10 men for 65 minutes.

“It’s been a hard season and it was a hard game as well but Celtic will be back next season. It’s a hard game for the fans but we are as disappointed as much as they are. We are sorry for letting them down over the whole season because this was supposed to be our showcase season and it wasn’t to be.

“We’ve struggled to score goals as a team [against Rangers] and defensively, pressing from the front, we’ve not done as well as we probably should throughout the whole team. I have to take responsibility for that as well because I’m the captain on the park. It’s not just John Kennedy it’s everyone together, we take the responsibility as well and we’re not shying away from that. I’m sad to be going, but it’s the right time for me.

“It’s a huge fixture, Rangers versus Celtic, and I’ve enjoyed them. I’ve had some great memories in them as well and some disappointing ones. From now on it’s about me going to Aberdeen next season and hopefully coming back and challenging as well. I’ve got two games left at Celtic and I need to make the most of them.”

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