Rangers Vs Celtic finish 2-2 as Hearts and Motherwell reap reward from Old Firm stalemate
In a bruising rangers vs celtic at Ibrox that finished 2-2, Rangers led 2-0 at the break before Celtic fought back to earn a draw — an outcome that left Hearts and Motherwell the unexpected winners of the weekend.
Rangers’ early dominance and Chermiti’s brace
Rangers looked dominant for the entirety of the first half and reached half‑time leading 2-0 thanks to a brace from Youssef Chermiti. The opening goal began with a dispossession of full‑back Julian Araujo by Tuur Rommens and Youssef Chermiti, then Andreas Skov Olsen floated a cross that Chermiti met with a towering header past goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo. The finish was described as spectacular and, for a long spell, Rangers “wiped the floor” with their city rivals.
How the Hoops fought back to make it 2-2
Celtic staged a strong second‑half recovery. Kieran Tierney and Reo Hatate scored to erase the two‑goal deficit and secure a 2-2 draw. The Hoops’ comeback was described as a great fightback that earned the share of the spoils after Rangers’ levels dipped in the second period.
Rangers Vs Celtic: incidents and key moments
The match was tense throughout and the aftermath turned aggressive, with pushing, shoving and pointing on the pitch. A standout early moment saw Mikey Moore, 18, juggle the ball around the halfway line shortly before the half‑hour mark until Julian Araujo ran over and wrestled the ball away. Luke McCowan had been quoted earlier in the week questioning whether Celtic could match Rangers, but the contest produced both brilliance and weakness from minute one to the final act.
Manager reaction: Danny Rohl defends character and calls for improvement
Danny Rohl defended his players at his post‑match press conference, saying, “I don’t accept this about mentality, ” and insisting the side have the bottle for the title race despite letting a two‑goal lead slip. Rohl said the gap is now six points and that “this will go to the final matchday and we will fight and fight for every point until the end. ” He added they will “try and improve against them next week” and stressed there are nine games to go, calling the run‑in “massive. ”
Rohl offered concrete explanations for the collapse: he said the team lost the ball in areas they should not have, giving Celtic transition moments, and that attempts to stabilise the midfield with a third midfielder failed to regain the earlier momentum. He said he would need to look back and count chances, noted a penalty situation that he described as a five‑against‑three, and argued that better body positioning could have prevented the goal. On January signing Andreas Skov Olsen, Rohl said, “He is on the way to being better and better, ” praising his assists and saying the player must keep improving.
