Rangers clinched a late winner to get past their arch-rivals at Hampden Park.
Rangers defeated Celtic 2-1 in the Scottish Cup semi-finals. The Gers secured their place in the final after Celtic shot themselves in the foot with a late own goal.
A revenge victory for Rangers!
Celtic defeated Rangers in a crucial derby earlier this month as they increased their lead at the top of the league table. Similar to that game, the Hoops started the game with dominance as they gained possession early on.
However, it took 64 minutes until they finally managed to open the scoring. Following a free-kick from the right flank, Gregg Taylor rifled a strike toward Ranger’s goal, which sneaked into the bottom right corner of the net after deflecting off Calvin Bassey.
Rangers bounced back by intensifying their attacks after the goal and managed to score the equalizer only 15 minutes later. Following a low cross from James Tavernier, Scott Arfield made it 1-1 with a precise curler.
Both sides came close to scoring several more times but couldn’t convert their chances before the 90-minute whistle. Rangers put more pressure on their opponents during the extra time, with a 114th-minute own goal from Celtic’s Carl Starfelt giving them the lead once again.
The Hoops pushed hard to get back into the game in the final five minutes, but their opponents managed to control the game until the final whistle.
What’s next for Rangers and Celtic?
Rangers qualified for the Scottish Cup final, where they face Hearts. Before that, however, both sides must return to league action.
Celtic will face Ross County while Rangers meet Motherwell at Fir Park. Let’s see if the Gers can gain momentum and catch Celtic in the dying stages of the season.
Player Ratings
Celtic: Hart (7), Taylor (6), Starfelt (5), Carter-Vickers (7), Juranovic (6), McGregor (7), Hatate (6), Rogic (6), Jota (5), Maeda (7), Abada (6).
Bench: Furuhashi (5), O’Riley (7), Ralston (7), Forrest (6), Welsh (5), Turnbull (5).
Rangers: McLaughlin (6), Barisic (7), Bassey (7), Goldson (8), Tavernier (7), Lundstram (6), Jack (6), Aribo (6), Kent (8), Ramsey (5), Roofe (7).
Bench: Wright (7), Davies (7), Arfield (8), Kamara (6), Balogun (5), Sakala (6).
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