Rangers cut gap to Celtic to two points after second derby win in eight days
Listen to reaction from Scott Brown & Andy Halliday & watch on YouTube, external
Rangers' Gassama hits post & sensational Makhanya strike disallowed
Rangers' Fernandez commits further fouls after early booking
FT: Celtic 0-1 Rangers
Right we've had some Rangers reaction, and there will be more to come when Derek McInnes gives his post-match thoughts.
But Martin O'Neill is speaking just now, so we'll have that shortly.
FT: Celtic 0-1 Rangers
Andy Halliday
Former Rangers midfielder on BBC Sportsound
The second half was even better than the first from Rangers. Complete control, waves of attack. It wasn't until probably the last five, 10 minutes when Celtic started to put Rangers under any pressure.
I honestly don't think I've ever seen a Rangers team go to Celtic Park and get so many easy touches of the ball. So similar to last week. Celtic, they just don't tackle anymore. They don't get close to people, they don't make contact.
Image source, SNSFT: Celtic 0-1 Rangers
Peter Lovenkrands
Former Rangers striker on BBC Sportsound
It's an unbelievable achievement, especially where the club was, with going out of Europe. They were in turbulence at that point, not playing well. It was all about trying to find a style.
This first Old Firm game and the cup game came that came around was kind of what Derek McInnes needed at that point, getting his team right and trying something different.
Coming here now again, at Celtic Park and win for two in a row is an unbelievable achievement for him and the team and the club.
For Rangers, it's going to give them so much confidence.
Image source, SNSFT: Celtic 0-1 Rangers
Man of the match Olwethu Makhanya tells Sky Sports: "Defensively it was very important for us. We expected a tough game, we had to be 100% focussed.
"Defensively, I'm really happy with how we played.
"It's the togetherness. We spend a lot of time together outside training, getting coffee and things like that. I feel like we're a family.
"That give us a reason to keep on fighting for one another."
Image source, SNSFT: Celtic 0-1 Rangers
Game-winning striker Ryan Naderi tells Sky Sports: "I'm so, so, so happy. Happy for the team, we deserve this, we worked all week.
"Honestly, I was lucky to be in the right place. That's what you have to do as a striker, I was there and scored it.
"To be honest, it started when we were at Ibrox on the bus. The fans were there already, they supported us. We felt that."
FT: Celtic 0-1 Rangers
Haha, Ryan Naderi has been speaking to our TV colleagues and he is still out of breath! The big man ran himself into the ground.
Olwethu Makhanya next to him is like he is on the pitch, cool as a cucumber. Looks like he never even played.
FT: Celtic 0-1 Rangers
While following our live reaction here, Scott Brown and Andy Halliday are chatting with our YouTube audience over on the BBC Scottish Football channel.
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FT: Celtic 0-1 Rangers
Right stick with us for more analysis and reaction to Rangers' second derby win in a week.
The narrative since the start of the season has completely flipped. You could say that right across the league.
Which proves that nobody should be judged in August.
FT: Celtic 0-1 Rangers
Kris Boyd
Former Rangers striker on Sky Sports
It was men against boys, the exact same as last week.
Sterling, Makhanya, Fernandez outstanding. Ryan Naderi was excellent, the shift he put in for the team was incredible.
To dominate a Celtic team like that, it should have been more convincing than what it was. Celtic are lucky to get out of here with a 1-0 loss.
They are a team in big, big trouble.
FT: Celtic 0-1 Rangers
Was that Ryan Naderi's best performance in a Rangers jersey?
He grabbed the winner, yes. But he was everwhere. What a shift from the striker.
Image source, BBC SportFT: Celtic 0-1 Rangers
Scott Arfield
Former Rangers midfielder on Sky Sports
There was a sense of Rangers being far superior - both in physicality and mindset. It wouldn't have been the end of the world if they drew.
But they won comfortably again and it was total domination.
FT: Celtic 0-1 Rangers
Chris Sutton
Former Celtic striker on Sky Sports
It's a massive result for Derek McInnes. It was about backing up last week's result and they absolutely did that.
They controlled the game, had better chances and thoroughly deserved to win.
Celtic have huge problems.
Two wins in a week for Rangers over their bitter rivals. They move to within two points of Celtic at the top of the Premiership.
That's six wins in a row in all competitions, while conceding just once.
Derek McInnes and his players will bounce their way into the international break!
For Celtic, it feels like doom and gloom after three straight defeats, despite being top of the league.
Image source, SNSCeltic 0-1 Rangers
Haissem Hassan again targets the back post with a dipping cross, but Shim Mheuka can't meet it.
Was that Celtic's last chance?
Celtic 0-1 Rangers
Findlay Curtis wins a brilliant foul for Rangers. We're into the first of four minutes of added time.
Celtic 0-1 Rangers
Shim Mheuka, the Chelsea loanee, is on for Liam Scales. Striker for centre-back. It has to be for Celtic.
Celtic 0-1 Rangers
Peter Lovenkrands
Former Rangers striker on BBC Sportsound
This is a difficult moment right now. Rangers are inviting the pressure to come on and try and go on the counter attack but Naderi and Kelsy are so tired when they do the counter attacks, they don't have much leg strength.
Celtic 0-1 Rangers
Image source, ReutersRangers midfielder Nico Raskin is booked for pulling back James Forrest. Haissem Hassan balloons the ball out.
Cammy Devlin and Tochi Chukwuani replace Dan Neil and Kevin Kelsy for Rangers.
It's all about seeing this out for Derek McInnes.
Celtic 0-1 Rangers
Scott Arfield
Former Rangers midfielder on Sky Sports
Bouanani needs to get up to the speed of this game. He's been been poor and lackadaisical since coming on.
Ryan Naderi's goal was enough to earn Rangers' second derby win in eight days
At a glance
Naderi stabs Rangers ahead before Gassama hits the post
Pandur makes a big save to deny Donovan in Celtic's best moment
Stunning Makhanya strike for Rangers is disallowed for hand ball
Rangers defeat derby rivals twice in a row for only the third time
Rangers earned a second Old Firm derby win in eight days to cut the gap to Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic to two points and deepen the gloom at their city rivals.
With no away supporters in the ground, striker Ryan Naderi silenced Celtic Park before the break with his first goal in this fixture to stretch Rangers' winning run to six consecutive matches.
It also means Derek McInnes is the first Rangers manager to win his opening two derbies since Graeme Souness in 1986.
But his counterpart Martin O'Neill is left with questions to answer and solutions to find following a third damaging defeat in seven days.
Celtic had to chase this game for an hour after Naderi pounced from close range to covert once Kim Min-su's powerful effort was parried out by Viljami Sinisalo.
But for the width of the Finn's right-hand post, Rangers would have doubled their advantage almost immediately. Djeidi Gassama's clever chip came off the upright, keeping the game on a knife-edge.
Prior to going behind, Kieran Tierney - playing in a more advanced midfield role - skimmed the top of Ivor Pandur's bar and the Croat later superbly kept out Colby Donovan's header which seemed destined to equalise.
In front of a hugely frustrated home support, Celtic didn't seem to know how to break Rangers down and were relieved when a stunning shot into the top corner by Olwethu Makhanya was ruled out for hand-ball.
Celtic never really looked like extending their run of Premiership wins to seven and in the end went down rather meekly to their first league defeat since Dundee United beat them at Tannadice in March.
It's also their third consecutive defeat, after the League Cup loss at Ibrox last Sunday was followed by a Europa League reverse against Ferencvaros on Thursday.
They still top the table but there's likely to be some soul-searching in the three-week international break given the marked downturn in fortunes since their Champions League exit in Linz.
Rangers, by contrast, are riding the crest of a wave at the moment, back in contention at the top of the table and looking forward to a League Cup semi-final next month.
After two bad defeats, O'Neill started with five defenders, pushing Tierney further forward into midfield with Luke McCowan on the other side in what looked like a 4-4-1-1 formation, with Benjamin Nygren supporting lone striker Camilo Duran.
After Auston Trusty's early volley was deemed offside, it all went downhill for Celtic.
One down at half-time - and the width of a post from it being a two-goal deficit - the manager made yet more changes. Off came the largely-ineffective McCowan to be replaced by big-money summer signing Kasper Hogh.
When that change didn't have the desired effect, O'Neill went back to the wingers who'd been dropped: Haissem Hassan and Sebastian Tounekti.
Nothing really came off for them either, with Celtic completely devoid of the fluency and energy which propelled them to the title last season and saw them win their first six games of the current campaign.
There has been a real drop-off in form, quality and confidence and O'Neill will have a lot of thinking to do to figure out how to get the side back on track.
It all went exactly according to plan for McInnes. He knew - with no away fans in the ground - that his side needed to avoid conceding early.
Once that box had been ticked, his side settled well, got their noses in front and came within an inch of doubling their lead and sending Celtic Park into meltdown.
No Rangers manager since Souness in1986 had won his first two derbies. It's quite the feather in the cap, then, for McInnes, who not so long ago in Jablonec said he didn't recognise his side as they crashed out of Europe.
He very much does now. Six wins in a row for the concession of just a solitary goal. A real head of steam building up domestically without the extra demands of continental competition.
If they can build on this, Rangers could take some stopping given the momentum they're building up. Integrating new players is an altogether more comfortable experience when the side is winning.
A rocky start to the season is behind McInnes, who won't get carried away but will be able to enjoy his international break far more than he might have anticipated.
Rangers' recent good run in this fixture also continues. They've only lost one league derby in the last eight. If they can keep up that kind of run, they'll feel very confident about the season ahead.
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 4 | 10 | 18 |
| |
| 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 16 |
| |
| 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 13 |
| |
| 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 10 |
| |
| 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 9 | -1 | 10 |
| |
| 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 10 | -1 | 8 |
| |
| 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 8 | -1 | 8 |
| |
| 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 11 | -2 | 8 |
| |
| 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 11 | -2 | 8 |
| |
| 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 11 | -3 | 7 |
| |
| 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 9 | -3 | 6 |
| |
| 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 15 | -9 | 5 |
|
Manager:Martin O'Neill
Formation:3 - 4 - 2 - 1
Manager:Derek McInnes
Formation:4 - 4 - 1 - 1
Scottish Premiership
All competitions
All competitions
Celtic’s 3-1 win over Rangers in May ended a six-game winless run in league Old Firm derbies (D3 L3). The Hoops have won six of their last eight home games against Rangers in the Scottish Premiership (L2).
Rangers beat Celtic 3-0 in the Scottish League Cup last weekend. Only twice before in the club’s entire history have they faced their Old Firm rivals twice in a row in all competitions and won both times, doing so in September 1960 under Scot Symon and April 1998 under Walter Smith.
Celtic are looking to win 14+ consecutive league matches for the first time since March 2017 under Brendan Rodgers (22), a run which ended via a 1-1 home draw with Rangers.
Celtic have won each of their last 13 league games, their longest winning run coming into a league Old Firm derby since March 2017 (22 in a row). The Hoops have only won two of the six previous occasions they have faced Rangers in the league while on a 13+ game league winning run (D1 L3).
Rangers have scored seven goals from 128 shots in the Scottish Premiership this season, a conversion rate of 5.5% - the lowest of any side in the division in 2026-27.
After Rangers’ 3-0 win in the Scottish League Cup last time out, Derek McInnes could become only the second manager to win both of his first two Old Firm derbies against Celtic in charge of the club, after Graeme Souness in 1986.
Rangers have used more players (26) and made the joint-most starting XI changes (18) of any side in the Scottish Premiership this season.
Five of Celtic’s six home league goals this season have come in the first half of matches, with their only second half strike at Celtic Park coming from Benjamin Nygren v Dundee on MD1.
