Daenen Maeda scored one of Old Firm’s great goals as Celtic came from behind to beat Rangers 3-1 at Celtic Park and move within a point of Premiership leaders Hearts.
After drawing with Motherwell at the top of the table on Saturday night, Celtic knew a win would close the gap on Derek McInnes’ side, but they didn’t get off to the start they wanted with Mikey Moore putting the visitors ahead after 10 minutes.
However, Yang Hyun-joong’s quick-fire equalizer brought the home side back on level terms, and Maeda put his side ahead in the second half, with Parkhead giving Celtic the light of day with an incredibly audacious overhead kick.
As a result, Celtic secured the Premiership title. Celtic will retain the title if they win their remaining two games – away to Motherwell on Wednesday and against leaders Hearts on the final day.
As expected, the match started at a frenetic pace with both teams exchanging chances early on.
Arne Engels started the attack with a swirling shot past Jack Butland from distance, but the keeper had no choice but to punch it away. At the other end, Moore fed Youssef Cermiti, whose good shot went just wide of the far post.
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Mikey Moore punishes Celtic’s sloppy defending to give Rangers an early advantage
However, the visitors got off to a strong start and took the lead after some tenacious play from Chelmity, who ran through a battered Auston Trusty in the early stages. After Celtic won the ball, he charged forward, but before his shot was blocked, the ball spun into the path of the oncoming Moore, who fumbled the goal from close range.
The away team had the upper hand, with Moore clearing near the line but an earlier foul forced the play back.
Maeda almost equalized for Celtic by winning a battle with Emmanuel Fernandes, but his shot went wide of the post. But Celtic didn’t have to wait long for an equaliser.
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Celtic managed to overcome Rangers’ early pressure and scored the decisive equalizer through Yang Hyun-joong.
Luke McCowan’s nicely weighted pass found Engels’ run inside the Rangers box and his cut-back was dispatched by Young. VAR investigated the possibility of offside, but the goal stood.
In the second half, Celtic increased the tempo and it was Maeda’s show. Kieran Tierney played the ball well past James Tavernier on Celtic’s left into the box, and the Japanese forward stole in front of Fernandes and pushed the ball into the net.
Then came the moment when I left the stadium in disbelief.
Rangers head coach Danny Rolle and Celtic manager Martin O’Neill look on.
Sebastian Tunekuti’s cross was only partially blocked, allowing Maeda to tee up the ball and send an overhead kick into the top corner from 15 yards, leaving Butland with no chance.
After falling further behind, Rangers controlled the ball further, but to no avail. Although the visiting team were relentless in their attacks, with substitute Bojan Miowski hitting the bar in the closing stages, the hosts never looked like they were under much pressure.
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Daenen Maeda pounced on a cross and finished perfectly with a scissor kick to score Celtic’s fantastic third goal.
Danny Rohr becomes the first Rangers manager to lose three games in a row since Dick Advocaat in 2000. The season is over and a third place finish is guaranteed.
But for Celtic, they travel to Motherwell on Wednesday night to bask in the glow of Old Firm victory knowing their title dreams are still alive.
O’Neill: ‘Celtic deserved to win’
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Celtic head coach Martin O’Neill has his sights set on winning the Scottish Premiership after the win over Rangers.
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill told Sky Sports:
“We have to win the game. We came back from a one-goal deficit when Rangers were behind. The effort the team put in throughout the game was invaluable. We scored at a crucial moment. It was a great goal and we deserved to win the game.”
“We’ve fought back in other situations this season. We were 2-0 down against Ibrox so we knew we could get back in the game. We just needed the team to settle down for 10 minutes to get back in the game.”
Maeda is happy to make it 3-1.
“Momentum can change at any time. We’re playing strong, we’re playing for each other and we’ve got big moments to turn the game around. That’s important for us. We now have a big game coming up in midweek against a very talented team at Motherwell so we have to prepare for that.”
“Celtic have been ahead for the last few years but this was a big challenge. We have been chasing all along, winning games and asking ourselves if we have gained any advantage.”
“We’re still in it, we’re still fighting, and that’s the most important thing to take away from today. Winning a football game gives you a great feeling, and seeing the players in the locker room giving their all is a great feeling.”
Mr. Roll: Rangers have a lesson to learn.
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After the loss to Celtic, Rangers head coach Danny Rolle said the situation would always be the same and that “in important moments we are not sharp enough”.
Rangers head coach Danny Rohr said on Sky Sports:
“It’s a huge disappointment. It’s very disappointing when you lose 3-1. The story is the same over and over again. We weren’t sharp enough to defend in the box in important moments. We had two similar situations, but the third goal was a great goal. You always have to play to get something.”
“Overall, both teams tried to do something. They both played very aggressive, but you have to be there to take things away in little moments and we just couldn’t do that. This is what we have to change going forward to win games like this.”
“At some moments we have enough players to defend, and at other moments we lose players and it’s hard to come back after that because they’re not ready, they’re not in the right position. I know that sometimes you have to suffer and overcome, but this is my job and my responsibility and this is what we have to improve as a group.”
Moore scores to make it 1-0.
“We showed that today too. When you go to the games, you still see good things, but it’s not enough to be good as a club. We want to be the best, we want to win titles and at the moment we have big learnings ahead of the new season and this is what we have to do.”
“I don’t feel very good right now. We have to take all this and the results of the last three games and move forward.”
