Rangers Vs Celtic ends 2-2 at Ibrox as Hearts and Motherwell profit
The rangers vs celtic game finished 2-2 at Ibrox after a dramatic turnaround, leaving Celtic sprightly and Rangers stunned and handing a better weekend to Hearts and Motherwell.
Rangers Vs Celtic: two-goal lead surrendered
Rangers led 2-0 at the break thanks to a first-half brace from Youssef Chermiti, but Celtic rallied in the second half through Kieran Tierney and Reo Hatate to force a 2-2 stalemate at Ibrox. The match featured pushing and shoving and pointing on the pitch in an aggro aftermath and left the home side needing "smelling salts, " as the post-match reaction painted Rangers as shocked by the late fightback.
Chermiti’s opener and a half of Rangers dominance
The opening goal began with a dispossessing of Julian Araujo in the corner by Tuur Rommens and Youssef Chermiti; Andreas Skov Olsen floated in the cross and Chermiti hurled himself into the air to head past Viljami Sinisalo for a spectacular opener. Rangers had wiped the floor with their city rivals in the first half and looked dominant until Celtic clawed their way back in the second period.
Hoops fight back and late drama
Celtic’s recovery was described as a great fightback after falling two goals down, with Kieran Tierney and Reo Hatate scoring to level the game. Observers noted that it was a draw infinitely better for Celtic than for Rangers, and the smell of satisfaction reached Edinburgh — "the distant sound of laughter" — as Derek McInnes at the top and Jens Berthel Askou in fourth saw the result they would have wished for, and Hearts and Motherwell finished the weekend in a stronger position.
Rohl hits back and defends mentality
Danny Rohl told critics he does not accept doubts over his team’s mentality after Rangers let a two-goal lead slip at Ibrox. "I don’t accept this about mentality, " the German coach said, adding that the team had lost the ball in areas they shouldn’t, gave Celtic transition moments and allowed the game to become stretched when they wanted to keep it compact. Rohl said he tried to stabilise the midfield with a third midfielder but the side couldn’t get momentum back and faced an opponent who "tried everything. " He pointed to the penalty as one of two moments where Rangers lacked the right positioning in the box, describing it as a five-against-three situation that good body position would have defended.
Skov Olsen, Mikey Moore and a note on individual moments
Andreas Skov Olsen assisted Chermiti’s opener but, Rohl conceded, spent much of the match on the periphery; the coach said the Danish winger "is on the way to being better and better" and that he has seen direction from the signing. The match also featured an eye-catching half-hour incident when Mikey Moore, described as exciting, dangerous and 18 years old, juggled the ball around the halfway line until Araujo wrestled it off him — a rare one-on-one win for Celtic in the first half. Commentators compared Chermiti’s aerial finish to other spectacular strikes, noting Scott McTominay’s famously measured 2. 53m boot as a benchmark for dramatic goalscoring moments.
Standings and the immediate calendar
Rangers remain in second place in the league standings but are now six points behind Hearts and could fall behind Celtic if they — two points adrift of them — win their game in hand over Aberdeen on Wednesday. Rohl stressed there are nine games to go and vowed to "fight and fight for every point until the end, " with the club planning to focus on improvement ahead of that Wednesday fixture against Aberdeen.
