Ianis Hagi scored his first Scottish Premier League goal of the season from 25 yards to give Rangers the lead against Celtic in the seventh minute.
His father, former Ballon d'Or contender Gheorghe, watched on at Ibrox. Romania international Hagi collected Nico Raskin's pass and beat Kasper Schmeichel to give Philippe Clement's side the start to one of the greatest games in Scottish football.
Ianis Hagi gives Rangers an early lead against Celtic. 🔵⚡️pic.twitter.com/WeqYvMn4JN
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) January 2 2025
Former Rangers striker Billy Dodds said the strike had gone nowhere. “It doesn't have a lot of speed, but it has a lot of precision in the bottom corner,” Dodds told Sportsound. “Starting at Rangers shook this world up.”
Rangers vs Celtic
Celtic started the game 14 points clear of second-placed Rangers, but were almost out of second place after 10 minutes when Vaclav Cerny's cross went wide.
Despite having significantly less possession for most of the first half, they managed to create 12 of 15 attempts on goal between the bottom teams and 2 of 3 at half-time.
❌ Vaclav Cerny's cross hits the bar as Rangers push against Celtic a second later. Live on Sky Sports Now! 📺 pic.twitter.com/g65hC0eQkX
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) January 2 2025
After 30 minutes, Ridvan Yilmaz sent in a cross from the sideline, and a fine effort from Cameron Carter-Vickers later prevented Mohamed Diomande from making a direct run at goal.
Without allocating away fans in the stadium, Celtic fans had to wait until half-time to test the players of Rangers goalkeeper Liam Kelly, who summoned a fine save to stop Rio Hart's volley.
After the former England international was taken to hospital with a leg injury on Tuesday, Kelly sparked a signal involving his teammates and several of their colleagues after the half-time whistle.
“So much for the cute season, it's time to be strong again!”
Rangers vs Celtic live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football from 2pm 📺pic.twitter.com/zzOAWPsfmz
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) January 2 2025
The Old Firm: The Premiership's top two meet.
Incumbent manager Brendan Rodgers has not lost against Scottish rivals since a shock 2-0 defeat at Hearts in March 2024.
The Champions League rivals took 10 points from four meetings with Rangers last season and won the Scottish Cup final in May.
They won the first Old Trafford game of the season 3-0 at Celtic Park in September and also secured the Scottish League Cup final meeting between the teams on 15 December on penalties.
Despite Celtic winning 20 games and drawing all 22 domestic games in 2024/25, A derby win will undoubtedly be the highlight of Rangers' campaign so far.
The 55-time champions have dropped six points from their opening 18 league games, with Kilmarnock; Defeated against Aberdeen and St Mirren.