Celtic 2-1 Rangers: Paulo Bernardo and Kyogo stunners secure win against 10-player Gers in Old Firm clash

In a highly energetic game at Parkhead, Celtic managed to put an end to Philippe Clement's Rangers' unbeaten record and were successfully able to establish an eight-point lead over their Old Firm rivals.

Brendan Rodgers' team faced a lot of pressure with their opponents from the Old Firm drawing closer to them in the Scottish Premiership standings. However, thanks to goals scored by Paulo Bernardo and Kyogo Furuhashi before and after halftime, they were able to secure the victory.

Rangers' Leon Balogun received a straight red card after bringing down Dazien Maeda who was sprinting towards the goal. This incident highlights the frustrations experienced by the team.

The visitors managed to score a goal, thanks to Captain James Tavernier's amazing free-kick, but unfortunately, it was not enough to turn the game around and secure a win.

Rodgers has always emerged victorious against the toughest opponents of Celtic in their own turf. Meanwhile, Rangers, who still have two games left to play, have fallen further behind in the championship battle.

Celtic Regained Title Control

At the start of the game, the Celtic supporters stood up in excitement when Kyogo Furuhashi received a pass from the left. However, Jack Butland, the goalkeeper for Rangers, deflected his shot and the ball went out for a corner. Afterwards, Rangers successfully removed the danger by clearing the ball.

After a defensive move, the Rangers team proceeded to move their focus towards the opposing team's goal. Ross McCausland found an opportunity to send in a pass that was close to the ground, but goalkeeper Joe Hart managed to stop it. Cyriel Dessers and Todd Cantwell also attempted to score, but their shots were deflected by the opposing team's defense.

Celtic had Stephen Welsh take the place of the injured Cameron Carter-Vickers. Meanwhile, Reo Hatate and Liel Abada returned from injury and were listed on the bench.

Connor Goldson, a defender for the Rangers team, was in good physical condition and able to start despite having to leave the field during a game against Motherwell. Philippe Clement decided to make a single alteration to the starting lineup, opting to bring in John Lundstram to replace Kieran Dowell.

After that, Luis Palma returned to Celtic and delivered a delightful ball towards Paulo Bernardo, who unfortunately missed the goal by just a small margin on the far post defended by Butland.

Kyogo almost made a mistake when he couldn't get his foot on Daizen Maeda's pass. Thankfully, he was saved by the referee's decision to call offside. The team he was playing for was pushing hard to score the first goal.

Bernardo unleashed a powerful shot from a distance of 20 yards, causing the side net to ripple. A few moments later, he seized an opportunity and Celtic Park exploded with cheers.

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After Greg Taylor's shot was deflected over the goal, a corner was taken. The ball was then cleared but unfortunately for Butland, the Portuguese midfielder hit it perfectly and scored, leaving him with no opportunity to save it.

Later on, Dessers had an excellent opportunity to score and tie up the game after stealing the ball from Welsh. Unfortunately, the Rangers' attacker took too much time, which gave enough room for Alistair Johnston to clear the ball away.

The lineup for the Celtic football team consisted of Hart, Johnston, Welsh, Scales, Taylor, McGregor, O'Riley, Bernardo, Maeda, Palma, and Kyogo, with each player having a rating ranging from 6 to 8.

The substitutes for the game were Nawrocki who had a shirt number of 7, Turnbull who had the number 5, and M. Johnston, Oh, and Abada who did not have shirt numbers available.

The Rangers football team had a match and the players were rated according to their performance. Butland scored 6, Tavernier received a 7, Goldson had a 6, Balogun got a 5, Yilmaz and Lundstram both got 7s, Sterling also scored a 7, McCausland received a 7, Cantwell got a 6, while Sima and Dessers both got 6s.

Dowell scored four goals, Wright scored four goals, and Souttar scored six goals.

Star of the game: Callum McGregor During the recent football match, Callum McGregor was the standout player. He demonstrated exceptional skill and talent on the pitch, impressing both fans and commentators alike. McGregor's contribution to his team's victory was significant, earning him the title of "player of the match". His hard work, dedication, and passion for the game were evident, and he deserved the recognition he received. McGregor's performance was truly remarkable and demonstrated why he is widely regarded as one of the best players in the league.

After hurting his shoulder while trying to clear the ball, the Celtic defender had to be substituted with Maik Nawrocki right away.

The Rangers team had several opportunities to score, with McCausland and Todd Cantwell having some close calls. They later believed they had a chance to score after Johnston appeared to touch the ball with their hand in the penalty box. However, the referee, Nick Walsh, did not need to review the incident on the monitor, as Abdallah Sima had been ruled offside during the build-up to the play.

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Celtic scored another goal shortly after the first half, and it was remarkable. O'Riley discovered the forward near the box's limit, and he fired a fantastic shot that landed in the top corner.

Dessers had another opportunity but didn't score for Rangers. Johnston and Bernardo from Celtic escaped getting sent off even though they made late tackles.

The Rangers team had a terrible afternoon that got even more unpleasant when Leon Balogun was given a direct red card for pulling down Maeda just as he was about to make a goal.

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Brendan Rodgers' team kept pushing forward. Butland stopped David Turnbull's shot soon after he joined the game, and Kyogo and Palma were also prevented from scoring by the Rangers goalkeeper.

During the game, James Tavernier scored a late goal with a strong free-kick that couldn't be stopped by the opposing team's goalkeeper, Hart. However, it wasn't enough to secure a victory for the Rangers as they faced their second loss against their rival team, Celtic.

For The Packers Packers' Important Win, Says Rodgers

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During an interview on Sky Sports, Brendan Rodgers, the manager of Celtic, shared his thoughts and opinions.

Our recent victory was incredibly crucial, especially since there are so many games in December. The energy in the arena was electric and the team performed exceptionally well on the challenging field. We even managed to score two exceptional goals."

The only negative aspect of our game was when we faced a team with only 10 players. We needed to improve our performance and maintain our positions on the field."

We need to regain our synchronisation and avoid going solo, as we have been giving the ball away excessively.

Callum McGregor is exceptional. I had the opportunity to collaborate with him when I first arrived here, and I am still impressed by him. We are fortunate to have someone as talented as him on our team.

He's an outstanding leader among this group. I'm glad to have him as my supervisor.

There's still a massive journey ahead, but the players' morale is boosted by their recent victory at Ibrox and now here. Things can only improve in the latter half of the season.

"I'm thrilled for all the fans, I felt there was a sense of excitement leading up to this match."

Clement Questions Officials Post Old Firm Loss

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Philippe Clement, the manager of the Rangers, stated:

Obviously, the outcome wasn't desirable because the objective was to emerge victorious. Our team took more shots compared to Celtic during the game today. We had to play with a player less for 15 minutes due to receiving a red card, which was the correct decision.

I have several other queries regarding the match. For instance, how come the handball in the first half didn't lead to a penalty? It was clearly a handball. Furthermore, why were some tackles not given a second yellow card, especially given the plethora of yellow cards that were given towards the end of the game? There were some peculiar decisions made in this regard.

Today, my main focus is on my team and their performance. They displayed numerous positive actions such as being daring with the ball, exhibiting quality skills, and generating plenty of opportunities. However, we lacked the crucial finishing touch we needed. In contrast, our opponents were able to finish strongly and the second goal was particularly impressive.

It's possible to experience defeats during matches, and it occurred to us. Nevertheless, our team exhibited exceptional attributes, as evidenced by our perseverance and ability to generate goals even when we were down one player.

I have very little criticism for my team, although there are a few things we could have improved on. It's obvious that we have come a long way since two months ago.

A conclusion wasn't reached regarding the offside, but they concluded that no penalty was warranted for the handball. I found this decision to be peculiar.

The game is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, January 2nd at 4:30pm, with the actual start time being at 5:00pm.

The upcoming game for Celtic in the Scottish Premiership will be against St Mirren. It's scheduled for Tuesday and if you want to watch it, tune into Sky Sports. The match will commence at 5pm.

The next game for Rangers in the Scottish Premiership will take place at their home stadium against Kilmarnock on Tuesday. The game is set to start at 3pm.