Odsonne Edouard climbed off the bench to win the game for ten-man Celtic who were behind twice in the game. They fought off a valiant Rangers side to move nine points clear in the league and end all talk of a title race, BBC Sport reports.
Celtic Endure Rangers Onslaught For Victory
Brendan Rodgers’ side took a huge step towards a seventh league triumph in a row after his side eventually silenced a confident Rangers outfit at Ibrox in the third Glasgow derby of the season.
Rangers Starting XI: Foderingham, Tavernier, Bates, Alves, John, Goss, Docherty, Candeias, Windass, Murphy, Morelos.
Celtic Starting XI: Bain, Ajer, Simunovic, Boyata, Tierney, Brown, Ntcham, Forrest, Rogic, McGregor, Dembele.
First Half
Just three minutes into the game, it was the home side who drew first blood. Hesitant play from Dedryck Boyata allowed Josh Windass to knick the ball and go clean through on goal. The in-form midfielder made no mistake and lashed the ball past debutant Scott Bain.
However, it didn’t take long for Celtic to bounce back. Great play from Tom Rogic created space and the Australian unleashed a stunning curling strike giving Foderingham no chance. It was a double blow for the home side as defender David Bates picked up a knock during the goal was forced off. Fabio Cardoso came on to take his place.
In this breathless first half, Rangers bagged their second goal not long after they were pegged back. Strong play by Jamie Murphy led to a cross reaching Daniel Candeias at the back post and the winger fired home for 2-1.
Celtic gradually began to wake up, however, and start to battle the energetic Rangers players with Dembele and Simunovic going close from corners. Meanwhile, smart play by Callum McGregor drew a fine low stop from Foderingham as Celtic pressed for a second leveller.
With half-time approaching, the visitors’ pressure paid off. A long ball found Moussa Dembele who forced his way past the Rangers defence and lobbed the ‘keeper to send his side into the break at 2-2.
Second Half
Graeme Murty’s men started with the same intensity as they did with the first and pushed Celtic back with some great pressure. Their hard efforts didn’t lead to many chances, however, as Celtic began to look the most likely to score next.
Meanwhile, With Alfredo Morelos running in behind Jozo Simunovic came across and caught him with an elbow. With help from his assistant, referee Wille Callum decided it was worthy of a red and reduced Brendan Rodger’s side to ten.
Young defender Jack Hendry came on to fill the gap in defence. However, ironically, it seemed the red card benefited Celtic with the pressure now all on Rangers.
With the Parkhead team happy to sit back, substitute Odsonne Edouard combined well with Moussa Dembele on the break. The PSG loanee showed great confidence to drive into the box and whip the ball across the goal and into the far corner to send the away fans wild.
As Murty threw on striker Jason Cummings, it seemed his side had been had lost all the attacking creativity that was shown in the first half and failed to break down the Hoops’ rearguard.
With time running out, Rangers finally fashioned a real chance. Scott Bain could only push away Windass’ low shot right to the feet of Morelos. However, the near-certain goal for the hosts was missed as the Colombian hit the post and Bain gratefully gathered.
Celtic held on to claim their four successive win at Ibrox with a strong Rangers performance ending in disappointment as they couldn’t grab a goal in the last 30 minutes with their man advantage.
Man of the Match: Oliver Ntcham (Celtic)
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