Rangers v Celtic LIVE: Result and reaction as Ianis Hagi inspires Old Firm victory
The first Old Firm derby of 2025 saw Rangers cut the gap at the top of the table to 11 points
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Your support makes all the difference.Rangers cut the gap to rivals Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership as Philippe Clement secured his first Old Firm win after seven attempts in an emphatic 3-0 win.
Midfielder Ianis Hagi produced a stunning drive from outside the box to break the deadlock to rock Brendan Rodgers' side.
Kyogo Furuhashi’s delightful finish was chalked off for offside early in the second half, but the hosts made the game safe thanks to defender Robin Propper converting in the 65th minute and substitute Danilo smashing home a third in the 81st minute.
The result sees the Light Blues now 11 points behind the Premiership leaders to keep their slim title hopes alive, with the mood lifted thanks to a raucous atmosphere at Ibrox.
Relive all the action from the Ibrox below:
Match facts
Celtic have only lost their opening league game of a calendar year in one of the last 27 years (W20 D6), although that was away at Rangers in 2021 (1-0).
Daizen Maeda has scored three goals in his last five appearances against Rangers in all competitions, this after only netting once in his first 12 Old Firm derby appearances prior.
The moment Celtic won the League Cup
Here’s a brief recap of the moment Celtic won the penalty shootout in the League Cup last month.
Match facts
Rangers have only lost their first league game of a calendar year in one of the last 13 years (W10 D2), a 1-2 defeat to Kilmarnock in 2019.
Rangers’ James Tavernier and Celtic’s Kyogo Furuhashi both have six goals in league Old Firm derbies. Since the Scottish Premiership began in 2013, only Odsonne Édouard (seven) has netted more times in this fixture in the division.
Rangers boss Philippe Clement is yet to beat Celtic in six attempts in all competitions in charge of the club (D2 L4); the only manager to go as long or longer before winning an Old Firm derby (for either side) is William Wilton with the Gers from 1890 to 1893 (first eight).
Is Rangers v Celtic on TV?
Kick-off is just 35 minutes away, so here’s a reminder of how you can watch today’s game.
When is Rangers v Celtic?
Rangers v Celtic is due to kick off at 3pm GMT on Thursday, 2 January at the Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow, Scotland.
How can I watch it?
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football, with coverage starting at 2pm.
If you do not have a Sky Sports subscription, you can buy a NOWTV day pass.
If you want to stream major sporting events while you are travelling or watching from abroad you’ll need a VPN. Get the best VPN deals in the UK. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are, and also with the terms of their service provider.
Match facts
Rangers have enjoyed only one win in their last 14 meetings with Celtic in all competitions (D4 L9), a 3-0 league victory in May 2023 under Michael Beale.
After losing all four of their away games against Rangers in all competitions in 2021, Celtic have since lost just one of five away Old Firm derbies (W2 D2).
Celtic have scored the opening goal in nine of the last 10 league Old Firm derbies, the only exception coming when Rangers did so in May 2023 (3-0 win). The side going 1-0 up lost none of those 10 fixtures (W7 D3), with the last to do so in the Scottish Premiership being Rangers in April 2022.
Rangers v Celtic: 109 Scottish titles between them
These two sides have won the Scottish top-flight titles a remarkable 109 times, with Rangers having won 55 and Celtic trailing behind on 54.
Celtic have won the Premiership the last three seasons in a row, with Rangers last winning in 2020/21 under Steven Gerrard. Before that, Celtic had gone on a nine-year title-winning streak, winning every season between 2011/12 and 2019/20.
The last side to win the league that wasn’t one of these two sides was Aberdeen in 1984/85, when they were managed by Sir Alex Ferguson.
Head-to-head
These two sides have met 124 times in the past, with Celtic winning 58, Rangers winning 58, and 25 ending as draws.
Most recently, the two sides played out a 3-3 draw in the League Cup final in December, before Celtic won 5-4 on penalties.
In the reverse fixture in the league, Celtic won 3-0 at home in September thanks to goals from McGregor, Furuhashi and Maeda.
Philippe Clement under pressure as Rangers fall 14 points behind leaders Celtic
A report from Rangers’ last match...
Philippe Clement insists he is too busy trying to fix ragged Rangers to think about his future at the Ibrox club.
The Gers boss was speaking after a 2-2 comeback draw against Motherwell at Fir Park saw the Light Blues fall 14 points behind Premiership leaders Celtic ahead of their meeting at Ibrox on January 2.
The Belgian was under pressure following the 2-1 Boxing Day defeat at St Mirren, where he described the first-half performance as unacceptable, but the first 45 minutes against Well were equally inept as goals from Apostolos Stamatelopoulos and Tawanda Maswanhise gave Stuart Kettlewell’s side a deserved interval lead.
Team news
The line-ups should be released in the next five minutes, so here’s the early team news.
For Rangers, Thomas Lawrence is a doubt after sitting out the last few matches with a knock, while John Souttar and Neraysho Kasanwirjo are not expected back until later in the month.
Hamza Igamane and Vaclav Cerny could make their returns to the forward line, with Nicolas Raskin likely to andhor midfield.
Celtic will be missing Odin Holm and James Forrest, but there are no new injury concerns after the win over St. Johnstone.
Rodgers will likely go with the same settled back five as he has used for much of the season, though captain Callum McGregor could return to the midfield in a deeper role.
In the forward line, the only ‘likely’ change would be Daizen Maeda coming in for Yang Hyun-Jun.
Predicted line-ups & prediction
Rangers XI: Butland; Tavernier, Sterling, Propper, Yilmaz; Raskin; Dowell, Diomande, Cortes; Dessers, Danilo.
Celtic XI: Schmeichel; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Valle; Engels, Bernardo, Hatate; Kuhn, Furuhashi, Maeda.
Prediction:
All form tends to go out the window in these derbies, with the recent League Cup final between these two sides providing a 3-3 draw in normal time. With the league leaders 14 points ahead, it’s certainly hard to see them losing, though they may settle for a draw on the day.
Rangers 2-2 Celtic.
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