Old Firm tension: Rangers lead Celtic 1-0 at half-time
Rangers hold a 1-0 half-time lead over Celtic in their Scottish Premiership derby at Celtic Park, courtesy of a Ryan Naderi goal, a week after thrashing their rivals 3-0 in the League Cup quarter-final.
Match action
In the Old Firm derby between Celtic and Rangers at Celtic Park, visitors Rangers led 1-0 at half-time. The only goal came from Ryan Naderi in the 33rd minute: Liam Scales headed away a corner, the ball fell to Kim Minsu, who chested it into Naderi's path, and the forward turned home the rebound after goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo had initially saved his low shot.
Celtic had their own chances too — Kieran Tierney's close-range effort came back off the crossbar, described as the hosts' best opportunity of the half. Rangers' Djeidi Gassama, after an excellent first touch, then chipped an effort onto the woodwork himself, which would have doubled the visitors' lead. Naderi had earlier tested Sinisalo with a header from a Dan Neil pass, but the goalkeeper saved.
No away fans were allowed inside Celtic Park, mirroring the previous weekend's fixture at Ibrox, where Rangers won 3-0 in the League Cup quarter-final.
Context and stakes
This is the second meeting between the Glasgow rivals within a week, and it carries significant weight for the Scottish Premiership table. A Celtic win would stretch their lead at the top to eight points, while a Rangers win would cut the gap to just two.
Brown's pre-match comments
Before kick-off, former Celtic midfielder Scott Brown told BBC Sportsound that the club's problems extend beyond the absence of Yang Hyun-jun, who is on Asian Games duty with South Korea, with Sebastian Tounekti and James Forrest deployed on the left instead. Brown said Rangers had blocked off Callum McGregor in the previous meeting, making it difficult for others to dictate play, and stressed that the opening 15 minutes would be crucial — Celtic, he said, need to rediscover their basic fight and hunger.
