Scottish Premiership
Celtic Park, Glasgow
Saturday, October 17, 2020

CELTIC… 0

RANGERS… 2
(Goldson 8 & 53)

It was a disappointing afternoon at Paradise for Celtic as they lost 2-0 in the first Glasgow derby of the season. Goals in either half for Conor Goldson gave the visitors the victory and all three points.

In an empty Celtic Park, Neil Lennon's side carved out their first chance of the game on six minutes following good work from Callum McGregor. He surged down the left wing, evading a couple of challenges, but his cutback into the six-yard box was cleared before Moi Elyounoussi could get on the end of it.

And two minutes later, it was the visitors who took the lead. James Tavernier fired a free-kick from the inside-right channel into the box, and Conor Goldson steered his header beyond Vasilis Barkas in the Celtic goal.

Rangers pushed forward in search of a second goal and they had a couple of half-chances from Tavernier and Ryan Kent, but on 14 minutes, Elyounoussi had a great chance to equalise.

Shane Duffy played a long ball over the top of the Rangers defence, which Goldson struggled to clear under pressure from Elyounoussi. The ball fell to him just inside the area, and he attempted a lob over the onrushing Allan McGregor, but it went high and wide.

Chances were at a premium in the first-half, with Elyounoussi and McGregor both having efforts blocked on the edge of the area. At the other end of the pitch, the Hoops defence prevented the visitors from carving out any further opportunities in the opening 45 minutes.

Celtic started the second half intent on getting back into the game, but it was the visitors who doubled their lead on 53 minutes.

Initially, the chance had come down the left hand side when Ryan Kent was set free, but Kris Ajer’s sliding challenge inside the box took the ball away from the forward and out for a corner.

But when that set-piece wasn’t cleared properly, the ball was fired back into the six-yard box where it broke kindly for Goldson to fire home his second of the afternoon. And it could have got worse for the Hoops on 65 minutes when a Barisic cross was met first-time by Kent eight yards out, but his goal-bound shot was deflected wide by Ajer.

Celtic had a chance with 10 minutes of the match remaining when Ajer threaded a ball through to Leigh Griffiths, but though the substitute rounded the Rangers keeper, the angle was too tight for him to score, and McGregor smothered it inside the six-yard box.

CELTIC: Barkas, Duffy, Brown, Klimala (Griffiths 66), Ntcham (Rogic 66), Elyounoussi (Ajeti 55(, Frimpong, Ajer, McGregor, Welsh (Turnbull 83), Laxalt (Taylor 83).
Subs: Bain, Soro, Henderson, Ralston.

RANGERS: McGregor, Tavernier, Goldson, Helander, Barisic, Kamara, Davis, Arfield (Aribo 89), Barker (Jack 61), Kent, Morelos (Itten 85).
Subs: McLaughlin, Bassey, Balogun, Jones, Hago, Defoe.

A day of derby disappointment for Celtic