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Celtic edge Rangers in cup semifinal thriller

Dom Farrell

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Celtic vs. Rangers score: Scottish League Cup semifinal result as O'Neill's men battle past 10-man Gers image

TL;DR

  • * Celtic defeated 10-man Rangers 3-1 in the Scottish League Cup semifinal.
  • * Johnny Kenny, Callum McGregor, and Callum Osmand scored for Celtic.
  • * James Tavernier converted a penalty for Rangers after Thelo Aasgaard's red card.
  • * Celtic will face St Mirren in the Scottish League Cup final.

Martin O'Neill returned to the Old Firm maelstrom after a two-decade absence as Celtic edged past 10-man Rangers to book a place in the Scottish League Cup final.

O'Neill was appointed as interim manager following Brendan Rodgers' abrupt resignation at the start of the week and got back in the saddle with a 4-0 midweek win against Falkirk.

Johnny Kenny's fine first-half header at Hampden Park gave Celtic a deserved lead and Rangers were left with a mountain to climb in the semifinal when Thelo Aasgaard was sent off for an x-rated lunge on Anthony Ralston.

But Danny Rohl's depleted side battled back after the break and, when a tumbling Ralston handled Djeidi Gassama's shot, James Tavernier converted from the penalty spot.

Those exertions ultimately caught up with Rangers during the additional period, as Celtic captain Callum McGregor fired a strike through Jack Butland's best efforts and teenage substitute Callum Osmand scored his first senior goal to book a place in the final against St Mirren.

JUMP TO: Highlights and key events | Where to watch | Head to head

Celtic-Rangers final

 2nd Half (ET)Goalscorers
Celtic3Kenny 25', McGregor 93', Osmand 109'
Rangers1Tavernier (p) 81'

Starting lineups:

Celtic (4-2-3-1 right to left) Schmeichel (GK) — Ralston, Trusty, Scales, Saracchi — Engels, McGregor — Maeda, Nygren, Tounekti — Kenny

Rangers (3-4-2-1, right to left):  Butland (GK) — Djiga, Souttar, Cornelius — Tavernier, Diomande, Raskin, Meghoma — Danilo, Aasgaard — Chermiti

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Celtic vs. Rangers: Goals and key plays

Fulltime

This time last week, Martin O'Neill was happily retired. Slightly different pace of life for him this weekend, but I'm sure he wouldn't change it for the world. Celtic are through to the final after almost 90 minutes against 10-man Rangers, who look predictably shattered.

109 mins: GOOOOOAAAAALLLLL!!!! Callum Osmand!!!!

A tale of persistence and what a moment for the teenager, who has surely sealed Old Firm victory and a place in the League Cup final. Tierney drilled across goal and Osmand was on hand to finish from close range.

Midgame (ET)

A flurry of activity around the Rangers goal before the break as Celtic seek to put this one to bed. Osmand brings a good save out of Butland before Hatate has penalty appeals waved away.

93 mins: GOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLL!!!!! Callum McGregor!!!!

The Celtic skipper restores his team's advantage with rasping strike. However, Jack Butland will definitely want to have done better with that.

Fulltime

We're heading into an additional 30 minutes. Something that did not seem at all plausible when Rangers went in at the break a goal and a man down.

90+3 mins: Another huge chance goes begging for Celtic as Harate blazes over from near the penalty spot.

85 mins: Huge miss from Celtic!  James Forrest plays in Callum Osmand, who can see the headlines his first Celtic goal would yield. The shot is weak, however, and aimed directly at Butland.

81 mins: GOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!! James Tavernier

Tavernier makes no mistake. The 10 men are level!

78 mins: PENALTY TO RANGERS!

A falling Ralston blocks Gassama's shot with his arm and the referee points to the spot.

64 mins: Fabulous save from Butland to keep Rangers in it. The ex-England shot-stopper displays excellent reflexes, diving low to deny Nygren's header. Ralston's subsequent shot is directly aimed at the Rangers' No. 1.

Halftime

Martin O'Neill is back managing in the Old Firm. What's all the fuss about? Rangers wandered through a half of self-sabotage there, from which there really should be no coming back.

38 mins: RED CARD! Thelo Aasgaard!!!!!

Good heavens, what is it you're up to? Aasgaard leads with his studs into Ralston, striking him in a spot that's arguably the most agonizing place one could be hit by a studded boot. An absolutely ridiculous head loss, a clear red card, and Rangers face a monumental task.

25 mins: GOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!! Johnny Kenny!!!!!

Celtic takes the lead through Kenny's excellent header at the near post from An Engels corner, as Rangers fail to capitalize on their earlier advantage. Just moments before, Kenny had received a strong challenge from Cornelius during the derby match. He appears to be perfectly well.

21 mins: NO GOAL! VAR OFFSIDE! 

Replays show that Maeda was fractionally offside in the build-up. That's both a huge let-off for Rangers and a huge blow for fans of comedy viral football moments.

19 mins: GOAL! CALAMITY FOR RANGERS!

Oh dear, oh dear. Nasser Djiga clears the ball, which then falls to his teammate Nico Raskin, and it goes into the Rangers' net. Oh, hang on, there might be a reprieve.

Start: First Half

The 448th Old Firm match has begun. Which team will secure the bragging rights and advance to the League Cup final alongside St Mirren?

Celtic and Rangers team lineups and news

Celtic are dealing with a few headaches on the injury front. Alistair Johnston's hamstring issue flared up again during the clash with Sturm Graz, ruling him out of contention.

Long-term absentees Cameron Carter-Vickers  and Jota  remain sidelined, the former recovering from Achilles surgery and the latter still rehabilitating from a serious ACL injury.

There is, however, some good news for the Hoops. Daizen Maeda returns to the starting lineup, while Kieran Tierney  is among the substitutes.

Celtic starting XI (4-2-3-1 right to left) Schmeichel (GK) — Ralston, Trusty, Scales, Saracchi — Engels, McGregor — Maeda, Nygren, Tounekti — Kenny

Celtic subs: Sinisalo, Yang, McCowan, Osmond, Hatate, Murray, Balikwisha, Forrest, Tierney.

Rohl has made a smooth start at Ibrox, implementing a back-three system that's brought both balance and belief to his side, and he's expected to stick with the same setup here.

The Light Blues head into the clash with a near full-strength squad, with only Dujon Sterling and Rabbi Matondo  unavailable. 

Danilo's  early exit against Hibernian was purely precautionary, according to Rohl, meaning he should be ready to lead the line here.

Rangers starting XI (3-4-2-1, right to left):  Butland (GK) — Djiga, Souttar, Cornelius — Tavernier, Diomande, Raskin, Meghoma — Danilo, Aasgaard — Chermiti

Rangers subs: Kelly, Aarons, Fernandez, Rothwell, Antman, Moore, Gassama, Curtis, Miovski.

Celtic and Rangers: A statistical comparison and head-to-head record

These teams met 447 times in all competitions, and yet, there is only one win to separate them.

Rangers winsDrawsCeltic wins
171106170
Biggest win:
5-0 (September, 1893)		 Biggest win:
7-1 (October, 1957)

MORE: All-time trophies, games won between Old Firm rivals

Celtic faces Rangers

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Dom Farrell

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.