Celtic Defeat Rangers To Become Scotland’s Most Successful By Trophy Count

Written by Callum McFadden from Hampden Park.

Celtic narrowly defeated Rangers in an exciting Scottish League Cup final held at Hampden Park, triumphing 5-4 in a penalty shootout after a thrilling 3-3 tie that went into extra time. Daizen Maeda was the hero of the shootout, scoring Celtic's fifth and final penalty beyond Jack Butland, securing the trophy for Celtic Park once again.

The game was thrilling from beginning to end. Rangers took the lead in the 41st minute when winger Nedim Bajrami took advantage of a significant error made by Celtic's left-back, Greg Taylor.

In the early part of the second half, Taylor made up for his earlier mistake by taking a shot that deflected off Rangers midfielder Nicolas Raskin, bringing Brendan Rodgers’ team back into a tie in the 56th minute.

Shortly after, a misplaced pass from Leon Balogun allowed Celtic to take control of the ball. Maeda seized the opportunity and calmly placed it past an approaching Jack Butland, putting Celtic ahead 2-1.

The Rangers wouldn't give up, and Mohamed Diomande's calm goal in the 75th minute brought the score level again.

Celtic believed they had secured victory with Nicolas Kuhn's precise shot in the 87th minute, putting them ahead 3-2. However, Rangers quickly responded. Substitute Danilo stunned the Celtic supporters by scoring an important equalizer, which took the match into extra time.

The extra half hour didn’t help determine a winner, leading to a tense penalty shootout.

Celtic's composure and skill were evident when goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel saved a shot from Ridvan Yilmaz, creating a chance for Maeda to step up and become the hero of the match by scoring the crucial penalty to secure the win.

The Japanese international took charge and confidently converted his penalty, securing yet another impressive League Cup victory for Brendan Rodgers and his Celtic team.

Today's win brought Celtic's total to 119 trophies, solidifying their position as the most successful club in Scottish football. Meanwhile, Rangers are still at 118 trophies after losing today.

Celtic: Schmeichel, Johnston (replaced by Ralston in the 70th minute), Carter-Vickers, Trusty (substituted by Scales at halftime), Taylor (given way to Valle in the 90th minute), McGregor, Hatate, Bernardo (came off for Engles in the 70th minute), Kuhn (switched for Forrest in the 105th minute), Kyogo (subbed off for Idah in the 76th minute), Maeda.

Alternatives: Sinisalo, Scales, Valle, Palma, Idah, Yang, Engels, Forrest, Ralston.

Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Balogun (replaced by Sterling at 67 minutes), Propper, Jefte (substituted by Yilmaz at 61 minutes), Raskin, Diomande (swapped for Barron at 106 minutes), Cerny (came off for Dowell at 106 minutes), Hagi, Bajrami (replaced by Danilo at 86 minutes), Igamane (substituted by Dessers at 101 minutes).

Reserves: Kelly, Yilmaz, Barron, Dessers, Dowell, Sterling, King, McCausland, Danilo.