Tom Rogic has scored a crucial goal to help Celtic come from behind to beat Rangers 2-1 in the Old Firm match, taking his former Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou closer to Scottish Premiership glory in his first season as manager.
Key points:
- Rogic was back in action after missing two World Cup qualifiers due to injury
- He struck in the 7th minute after Celtic had fallen behind at Ibrox
- The victory over their closest rivals is a massive boost to Celtic’s title chances
The victory at Ibrox Stadium — Rangers’ home ground — takes Celtic six points clear of their Glasgow rivals at the top of the table with six matches to play.
Rogic struck a seventh-minute equaliser after former Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey had given Rangers the lead four minutes earlier.
The former A-League midfielder pounced for his sixth goal of the campaign from close range after a probing run into the box by captain Callum McGregor.
Rogic’s first shot was blocked before a subsequent shot from Celtic’s Japanese midfielder Reo Hatate was parried by Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor, before Rogic cooly scored from the rebound.
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The Canberra-born midfielder went close to adding a second in the 25th minute, with his shot going over the bar from a good position inside the area.
Celtic took the lead two minutes before half-time through Cameron Carter-Vickers who forced the ball home after a Jota free-kick.
In a goalless second half, they survived a late onslaught to hand Rangers their first home league defeat in more than two seasons.
The victory extends Celtic’s unbeaten domestic run to 31 games.
The two sides will meet only once more this season, meaning that Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Rangers will need to rely on other results to catch Celtic, with 18 points to play for.
Postecoglou continues to earn accolades for turning a struggling Celtic side around with an attacking brand of football.
Having won the Scottish League Cup last December, Celtic will face Rangers again in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup on April 17.
Their next league match is at home to St Johnstone on April 9.
Celtic’s impressive victory comes two days after a proposed Old Firm Derby in Australia for November was cancelled after Rangers pulled out.
