What a game.
Celtic extended their lead atop the Scottish Premiership to nine points after edging Rangers 3-2 in a thrilling encounter at Ibrox.
It was an Old Firm to savour, a match brimming with the usual intensity but delivering impressive football and masterful finishes to complete a scintillating semi-final in Glasgow.
Celtic triumphed but Rangers will rightly feel hard done by. Graeme Murty's men raced into the lead after just three minutes, the sprightly Josh Windass capitalising on Dedryck Boyata's mistake to tear away and rifle a shot high into the net.
Their lead lasted just seven minutes, though, as the excellent Tom Rogic embarked on a mazy run before curling a delicious left-footed effort into the corner for the equaliser. A moment of genius from the Australian playmaker, and perhaps a decent shout for goal of the season.
Two goals, two cracking finishes.
https://twitter.com/CelticGoals/status/972808021289111553
But then, on 27 minutes, Rangers got their noses back in front, Daniel Candeias finishing after Declan John's cross.
Brendan Rodgers' Celtic are made of stern stuff, of course, having clinched a domestic treble last season, and restored parity on the stroke of half-time, when Moussa Dembele raced in behind the Rangers defence and calmly lifted the ball over the advancing Wesley Foderingham.
It looked as though the pendulum had swung in Rangers' favour, however, when Celtic centre-half Jozo Šimunović was shown a straight red card for striking Alfredo Morelos across the face with his arm.
But the Hoops were not to be deterred. Rodgers replaced Rogic and James Forrest with Jack Hendry and Odsonne Edouard, and it was the latter who produced the match-clinching moment.
Just two minutes after coming on, the 20-year-old Frenchman latched onto a fine pass from Dembele. Driving at Sean Goss, Edouard cut inside, opened up his body and sent a brilliant effort curling into the far corner.
https://twitter.com/CelticGoals/status/972827065979416576
The drama didn't end there. With just a minute of regulation time remaining, Celtic keeper Scott Bain – making his debut – parried an effort straight to Morelos, who somehow failed to convert from point-blank range, hitting the post before Bain gratefully smothered.
So, in a five-goal thriller at Ibrox, we got a memorable combination of the brilliant and the bizarre. Edouard is the hero but Morelos, who is fresh from signing a new contract at Rangers, will be wondering how he let that chance go begging.
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