Celtic suffered their first defeat at home this season after losing 3-2 against Old Firm rivals Rangers at Celtic Park on Sunday.
The Bhoys still lead the Scottish Premiership table by 13 points with eight games left, but they will be disappointed after losing twice to Rangers this season.
Rangers played with more intensity and took a 2-0 lead at the break. Celtic were below par in the first half, and the home fans had very little to cheer about.
After the break, the Bhoys showed signs of returning to their old best and scored two goals to level the tie.
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Rangers forward Vaclav Cerny is going viral for his outrageous touchline celebration, just moments after Hamza Igamane netted a late winner in Sunday’s dramatic Old Firm derby. It was an afternoon to remember for Barry Ferguson and his Rangers side, just days after they secured their place in the Europa League quarter-final with victory over Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce. The visitors went two goals ahead at Celtic Park through Nicolas Raskin and Mohamed Diamonde but after Diazen Maeda pulled one back for Celtic in the opening stages of the second-half, things took a turn. In fact, they levelled the scores with 74 minutes played as Japan international Reo Hatate slotted past Jack Butland with ease. But then, with two minutes of normal time remaining, substitute Hamza Igamane scored his 14th goal of the season as in-form Rangers clinched an unforgettable three points in Glasgow. Moments after Igamane ended a recent goal drought in the dying embers, Czech winger Vaclav Cerny could be seen squirting his water bottle at a section of Celtic supporters in the front row. As you can see from the post below, footage of the incident soon emerged on X, formerly Twitter, as fans reacted to Cerny’s animated celebrations. One said: “Vaclav Cerny sprayed Celtic fans with a water bottle after their goal,” and a second wrote: “Whatever it costs to sign Cerny. We will pay double.” A third wrote: “He’ll be lucky to finish their season now. Since when was this this appropriate from any professional?” A fourth said: “Top level s***housery…..should actively be encouraged in football,” and a fifth added: “Creased every time I see it. Could watch this on repeat all day.” Speaking in his post-match interview, Rangers boss Barry Ferguson was asked about the incident involving Cerny. “No, listen, I was just concentrating on celebrating and making sure we were getting back into our shape,” he told Sky Sports. “I didn’t see the incident if I’m honest.” Vaclav Cerny sprayed Celtic fans with a water bottle after their goal… 😅 After becoming the first Rangers manager since Walter Smith in 1991 to win at Celtic Park on his first attempt, Ferguson was full of praise for his players. “It’s a really good feeling coming to your fiercest rivals and deserving to win the game,” he said. “I just said to the players to go and enjoy the next couple of days because it’s been a long time, I think five years. But I think if you look at the game overall, we deserved it. “I thought in the first half, that was the game plan that we came with. I thought the boys stuck to it perfectly. The second half, you always know Celtic are going to come at you because the crowd is getting frustrated. “I thought Brendan would make a change or two and he certainly did that, and it made a different to the Celtic team. They obviously got back into the game at two each. “But then I take a step back and what I’ve been trying to drum into the boys is there’s more needed at Rangers than being a good player. It’s been labelled by you guys, everybody in the media about character, and that’s one of the things I stressed to them when I come in today.” Cerny has been one of Rangers’ standout performers under Ferguson. Image credit: Getty Ferguson added: “It takes a certain type to be a very good Rangers player. My group of players are certainly starting to show that.” Thoughts on the moment involving Cerny? Let us know in the comments.
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In the end, Rangers striker Hamza Igamane sealed the tie in their favour with a thunderous strike. Celtic created a few good opportunities but it was too late to stage a revival.
Chris Sutton was unhappy with Kasper Schmeichel’s performance in the first half. The Danish goalkeeper made a huge blunder by giving the ball to Vaclav Cerny, but it didn’t end up in goal.
The Sky Sports pundit remarked: “Scandalous from Schmeichel. Could Cerny have shot earlier?”
Sutton was also unhappy with Cameron Carter-Vickers’s role leading to Igamane’s goal.
He added: “Celtic missed Callum McGregor’s leadership and they missed his quality. It was so careless the goal they gave away for the winner. I think Cameron Carter-Vickers ducks out of the way.”
Kyogo Furuhashi has been the scourge of Rangers over the years, but in his absence, the baton has been passed to Daizen Maeda. The Japanese forward brought life back at Parkhead when he scored early in the second half.
Reo Hatate, whose future has come under speculation, added another to stage a dramatic comeback. Celtic were mechanical in their approach and probably didn’t hit the high gears that we normally see from them.
