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So far, so good for Martin O’Neill in his 28th Old Firm. Kenny’s goal was well taken and Celtic were unlucky to have Raskin’s earlier own goal chalked off for a tight offside.
But even with a man advantage they have been guilty of lapses in concentration at the back. Rangers have had chances and will surely have more. And let’s not rule out the numbers being evened up.
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Half-time: Celtic 1-0 Rangers
Johnny Kenny’s header separates the sides at the break. Thelo Aasgaard’s red card has made it tougher for Rangers, who have spurned a couple of great chances through Youssef Chermiti. Celtic are lucky to still have 11 men after Auston Trusty’s silly kick out at Jack Butland at the end of the half.
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45+3 min: Trusty is booked for kicking in the direction of the ball as Butland comes out to claim it. He catches Butland in the face – it’s really silly. He’s so fortunate that it’s just a yellow.
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45+2 min: Rangers win a free-kick, Tavernier sends a searching ball into box but Schmeichel clutches it with ease. Up the other end, Tounekti wriggles into the area off the left and sees a shot deflected out for a corner …
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45 min: Two added minutes.
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44 min: The red card has left Rangers a bit ragged. Danny Röhl needs half-time to come quickly so he can reorganise.
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42 min: Martin O’Neill has his hands behind his head as Nygren bumps his way into a shooting position and flashes his effort past the side-netting. Kenny was coming through and would’ve been in a better position to take it on.
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40 min: There’s some more handbags as Raskin commits another foul. It’s threatening to boil over a bit. Celtic have Rangers where they want them.
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Red card for Aasgaard!
Rangers are down to 10 men! Aasgaard flicks the ball over his head and stretches his leg out to take it down, catching Ralston above the knee. It’s not malicious but it is dangerous. Walsh doesn’t hesitate to show a straight red. Ralston shows off the stud marks on his thigh.
Thelo Aasgaard of Rangers challenges Anthony Ralston of Celtic and earns a straight red card. Photograph: Stuart Wallace/ShutterstockShare
Updated at 09.49 EST
37 min: Engels’ inswinger is headed clear the near post. Danilo upends the Belgian and feeds it in again from the free-kick but Butland gathers.
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35 min: Djiga dives in on Tounekti on Celtic’s left wing and Tavernier has to come across to poke it out for a corner …
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Updated at 09.37 EST
34 min: Meghoma loops a hopeful cross into the Celtic box but Schmeichel claims it before Chermiti can try his luck again. Kenny and Tounekti then get their wires crossed on a Celtic counter.
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Poor from Chermiti. He’s inside the six-yard box when he makes contact but he shins the ball wide of the post. Two big chances he’s passed up now.
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32 min: Ralston clotheslines Meghoma and Tavernier has the chance to whip an inswinging free-kick into the box. Chermiti ghosts in at the back post but can’t divert it on target. Should do better.
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30 min: Almost an equaliser! Danilo swivels and slides a wonderful ball into Raskin but Schmeichel is quick off his line and blocks the shot. Textbook goalkeeping.
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28 min: Engels wins it on halfway and Maeda sets Kenny free down the right. The Irishman comes inside and stings Butland’s palms! It’s another Celtic corner … but it comes to nothing.
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27 min: The goal seems to have geed Celtic up even more. They’re snapping into tackles now and Rangers are struggling to cope with the intensity.
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GOAL! Celtic 1-0 Rangers (Kenny 25)
Engels’ corner is met at the near post by Kenny and he angles his header perfectly to loop over Butland and into the back of the net. First blood to Celtic!
Celtic’s Johnny Kenny scores their side’s first goal. Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PAShare
Updated at 09.34 EST
24 min: Cornelius is the first player into the book with a nasty challenge on Kenny. The free-kick goes into the box and Nygren’s skewed shot is deflected out for a corner …
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22 min: Rangers should be in front! Diomande plays an excellent ball into the box and Chermiti slides in but somehow steers it wide of the near post!
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There’s really not much in it, Maeda’s heel is just beyond Djiga on the ball through.
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Celtic goal ruled out!
20 min: After Maeda spurns a huge chance, Celtic think they’ve gone in front in bizarre circumstances! Maeda gets the ball in the box again, dinks it into the middle and Djiga smashes the ball into the chest of Raskin and it sails into the back of the net! VAR comes to Rangers’ rescue as Maeda is adjudged to have been offside.
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Updated at 09.24 EST
17 min: Celtic go wide again and Tounekti’s cross is easily gathered by Butland. Nygren shouts at the Tunisian, something along the lines of ‘why didn’t you pass me the ball?’ Maybe not that civil.
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16 min: Röhl’s got his Rangers team well set up when out of possession. There’s a real lack of space for the likes of Nygren to operate in between the lines.
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14 min: Meghoma bumps into Maeda near the corner flag and Celtic have the opportunity to put the free-kick into the box. It comes across to Tounekti again but he can’t find enough space to get a shot or cross away. Maeda clatters into Danilo on the counterattack.
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Updated at 09.15 EST
12 min: Aasgaard beats Ralston to a loose ball around halfway and sets off down the left. Bearing down on the penalty area, he cuts in and shots straight at Schmeichel. An easy take.
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11 min: Meghoma heads up the other end and sends a cross to his fellow wing-back Tavernier at the back post but it’s snuffed out by Celtic.
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10 min: Chance for Celtic! Maeda wins a corner off Cornelius. It’s quickly taken and comes through to Tounekti on the left. He leans back and lifts his curling shot over the bar.
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8 min: Schmeichel’s distribution is better but Tavernier wins the ball in the Celtic half. Rangers win a free-kick when Engels fouls Diomande. Tavernier will loft it into the box … but Maeda gets rid.
Rangers’ James Tavernier in action with Celtic’s Sebastian Tounekti. Photograph: Lee Smith/Action Images/ReutersShare
Updated at 09.16 EST
6 min: Butland keeps inviting pressure with a couple of shanked kicks. That won’t settle Rangers nerves.
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4 min: Djiga misses the ball and Tounekti scampers in behind the Rangers defence but Souttar gets across to clear the cross. Maeda then puts a ball in from the other flank and Djiga smashes it away. Very anxious from Rangers.
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2 mins: After a couple of nervy punts from Rangers, Celtic settle down into possession in their own half.
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Kick-off!
Nick Walsh, the referee, booed as he is shown on the big screen, plonks the ball on the centre spot and Johnny Kenny gets us under way.
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The players head out into the noise, Hampden split down the middle into blue and green. For the right to face St Mirren here in December … here we go.
Celtic interim manager Martin O’Neill (left) and Rangers manager Danny Rohl. Photograph: Jane Barlow/PAShare
Updated at 09.15 EST
Other football: John Brewin is on our minute-by-minute coverage for West Ham v Newcastle in the Premier League; Yara El-Shaboury has all the latest from the early kick-offs in the WSL:
As for us, there’s just over five minutes until kick-off at Hampden!
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Nick Walsh is the man in the middle today. He also refereed the 2024 Scottish Cup final between Celtic and Rangers and a Europa League match last season where he showed four red cards and 12 yellows. Don’t cross him.
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Danny Röhl: While this is his first Old Firm, the new Rangers manager has made it clear this week that he’s used to being involved in other major rivalries as a coach, at Bayern Munich and Sheffield Wednesday:
I can remember when Hansi Flick took over, our second game was at home against Dortmund. We won 4-0. It is always a booster if you win such a game. As well, in the Championship in the Steel derby, I was also part [of it] there. I know what it means for the fans. This is more than just a game.
A smart occasion. Photograph: Jane Barlow/PA
The 36-year-old German has also been lauding 73-year-old Martin O’Neill’s longevity:
I feel a big respect for such a coaching career. I think it is always great as a manager when you work so long in this business and you are successful.
I am just at the beginning of my career. I have a lot of work to do to come to this point but the good thing is we start at 0-0, different generations and let’s see what we can bring with our teams in this game.
I am very excited. I have had some experience but I expect a big, big one on Sunday. To be part of such a game, it’s all or nothing. You win, you go into the final, you lose, you’re out. I think everything is on for a great, great game.
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Updated at 08.54 EST
Martin O’Neill: The Celtic interim manager has this week been reminiscing about his first meeting with Rangers 25 years ago, the 6-2 ‘Demolition Derby’:
Well, replicating that might be extremely difficult, scoring six goals against that side. I’d settle for a really lousy 1-0 victory if we could get it. Some lads come up and say to me: ‘That was a great game’, and they weren’t even born. They tell me their grandfathers and fathers were talking about it. It became a really pivotal match for us, not just that season, but probably for continuing on.
The nervousness for about 72 hours before, and then if you got the result, a great relief. And I think that’s what the great Walter Smith used to say about it as well, that it was relief more than anything else. But they were fantastic fixtures really. It’s still a fantastic fixture.
This is a big game for us. Really, don’t disguise that at all. It’s a semi-final, it’s a big match for us. Any Celtic-Rangers game is a big game, but particularly given the circumstances of the recent days, if not weeks, absolutely.
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Two new managers in the dugouts today but there’s a big gap in Old Firm experience between them. Danny Röhl is experiencing his first as Rangers manager while Martin O’Neill is about to take charge of his 28th.
Today’s result could have a major impact on how long O’Neill’s second spell as (interim, for now) Celtic boss lasts, as Ewan Murray has been pondering:
Celtic could pay £5m in compensation to coax Kieran McKenna from Ipswich. They could take an even bigger gamble on Robbie Keane. The Scottish champions may opt to give Club Brugge’s Nicky Hayen a first taste of British football. These are all gambles in their own way. Even more than O’Neill? This is debatable.
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Starting lineups
Celtic (4-3-3): Schmeichel; Ralston, Trusty, Scales, Sarrachi; McGregor, Engels, Nygren; Maeda, Kenny, Tounekti.
Subs: Sinisalo, Balikwisha, Yang, Osmand, McCowan, Hatate, Murray, Forrest, Tierney.
Marcelo Sarrachi starts ahead of Kieran Tierney at left-back. James Forrest also drops out of the XI that beat Falkirk in midweek.
Rangers (3-4-3): Butland; Djiga, Souttar, Cornelius; Tavernier, Diomande, Raskin, Meghoma; Aasgaard, Chermiti, Danilo.
Subs: Kelly, Aarons, Fernández, Rothwell, Antman, Moore, Gassama, Curtis, Miovski.
James Tavernier gets the nod over Max Aarons on the right, with Mohamed Diomande coming in for the suspended Connor Barron in the middle and Thelo Aasgaard preferred to Mikey Moore in attack.
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Updated at 08.34 EST
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the Old Firm. It’s got to be better than last time, right? Rangers and Celtic last met at the start of September in a goalless draw that yielded just nine shots in total, a combined expected goals of 0.34 and just the three yellow cards.
In the dugouts at Ibrox that day were Russell Martin and Brendan Rodgers. It all looks very different now. Danny Röhl and Martin O’Neill are the men in charge for this League Cup semi-final at Hampden Park, the first signing a two-and-a-half year deal at Rangers and the latter employed by Celtic on an interim basis at the start of this week two decades after his first spell in charge.
The winners today will head through to play St Mirren in the final on 14 December, with Celtic hoping to defend the title they won for the 22nd time last year.
Kick-off is at 2pm (GMT) and we will have extra time and penalties if necessary, so strap in.
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