• Elyounoussi heads home Celtic’s first derby goal of the season
• Morelos scores in Old Firm derby for first time at 15th attempt
• Both sides in pre-match show of solidarity against discrimination
• No guard of honour from Celtic for new champions Rangers
Recently-dethroned Celtic had the better of the third Old Firm derby of the season but had to settle for a point, as newly-crowned champions Rangers maintained their unbeaten Scottish Premiership record this season.
Mohamed Elyounoussi met Odsonne Edouard’s fine cross with a diving header to score Celtic’s first Old Firm derby goal of the season midway through the first half.
But Alfredo Morelos broke his duck by finally getting a goal against the Hoops at the 15th time of asking in all competitions, as he stooped to head home from close range seven minutes before the break.
An unchanged Celtic had several chances during a flat second period that they controlled, but interim boss John Kennedy – in charge of his third match, as he bids to stake a claim to be Neil Lennon’s permanent successor – was left frustrated that they didn’t manage to win.
Meanwhile, Steven Gerrard – taking charge of his 100th league game as Rangers boss – was content with a first Old Firm derby draw as a manager as his side are now five matches away from completing only the fourth ever unbeaten top-flight league campaign.
In the final Scottish Premiership game before the international break and the division splits in two, the top two clubs went head to head in their first league outing since Rangers sealed their first Scottish top-flight title since 2011 and ended Celtic’s chances of an unprecedented 10 in a row in the process.
Rangers’ record 55th league title was confirmed after they beat St Mirren 3-0 at Ibrox on 6 March and Celtic were held to a goalless draw at Dundee United the following day.
It was only confirmed on Friday that the game would go ahead amid fears it would be called off, after thousands of Rangers fans broke coronavirus lockdown restrictions by gathering to celebrate the club’s title success a fortnight ago. The Scottish government successfully liaised with police, both clubs and the football authorities to align the message for fans to stay at home while there was a significant police presence in Glasgow.
As interim boss Kennedy confirmed on Friday, there was no guard of honour from Celtic for their eternal rivals, who had refused to give Celtic the same mark of respect when they arrived at Ibrox as champions in May 2019.
Following suit with other clubs across Scotland on Saturday, the Old Firm stood together in solidarity against all forms of discrimination by not taking the knee.
The collective decision was made after Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara was allegedly racially abused by Slavia Prague defender Ondrej Kudela during Thursday’s Europa League defeat at Ibrox, and forward Kemar Roofe also shared sickening abuse he subsequently received on social media.
There was also a nice touch in the warm-up as Celtic captain Scott Brown went over to speak with and embrace Kamara, whose boss Gerrard said before kick-off that the player was ‘fine’ and ‘looking forward to the game’.
The 423rd meeting of the old-age rivals didn’t start with the ferocity normally accustomed to these derbies. But, with the pitch in pristine condition in sun-kissed Glasgow for the high noon kick-off, both sides looked relaxed in the early stages as they settled into the contest – which was once again played behind closed doors.
Callum McGregor – the only Celtic player to start all 32 league matches this season – fired a shot over from the edge of the box after linking up well with Stephen Welsh, when David Turnbull’s free-kick from the left had been cleared.
At the other end, Borna Barisic delivered a cross which was slightly behind Morelos, who readjusted but could only direct his header straight into Scott Bain’s gloves. It was the game’s first attempt on target, in the 21st minute.
But two minutes later, the blue touch paper was lit. McGregor’s fine pass down the left channel released Edouard, who clipped a first-time cross into the six-yard box where Elyounoussi got away from Filip Helander to plant a diving header past Allan McGregor for his 15th of the season.
It sparked Celtic into life and Edouard looked to have a certain scoring opportunity when he skipped away from Barisic inside the box after a slick passing move.
But, after going down, the striker was shown a yellow card for diving by referee Willie Collum – taking charge of his eighth Old Firm derby and first since December 2019.
Both interim boss Kennedy and captain Brown said after the game they felt it should have been a penalty.
With Leon Balogun given a tough time as a makeshift right-back in captain James Tavernier’s continued absence, McGregor – whose own goal settled January’s derby at Ibrox in Rangers’ favour – got in behind him again but his low effort was denied by his namesake in the Rangers goal.
But the visitors – who were looking for a fourth successive derby win – found a response, as Morelos grabbed his long-awaited first goal against Celtic.
An inswinging Barisic corner – poorly defended by Celtic and needlessly conceded by Jonjoe Kenny – was flicked on by Balogun to the back post, where the Colombian striker was free to nod home from close range and net for the fifth successive league match.
A barnstorming finale to a first half which took a while to get going saw both goalkeepers called into action in quick succession.
The lively pair of Edouard and Elyounoussi combined again with the former kept out by the feet of McGregor, who then had to scoop behind a downward header by Elyounoussi from Turnbull’s corner.
Ryan Kent, who was threatening throughout for the visitors, produced a thunderous first-time volley on his left foot from Ianis Hagi’s floated pass which brought the best out of Bain.
Celtic had the first chances of the second half as Welsh headed a Turnbull corner narrowly over the crossbar before Edouard’s left-footed strike from 20 yards was parried away by McGregor.
The Hoops had gained a measure of command as they continued to ask questions of the Rangers backline, particularly down the left flank through the impressive Diego Laxalt. To negate his increasing influence, Nathan Patterson was introduced for his Old Firm derby debut for Rangers, in place of Balogun.
Turnbull latched on to a delightful Ryan Christie pass but his low shot was kept out by the feet of McGregor, before Edouard headed over from a Turnbull corner from close range.
Both sides had scored 29 goals between them in the final 15 minutes of league matches this season but, despite maintaining a high tempo, neither team could find a winner.
Celtic’s on-loan Everton full-back Kenny brought a routine save out of McGregor from the edge of the box with a tame shot, while Connor Goldson – who scored twice at Celtic Park in October – looped a header from a Barisic corner wide of the post.
A 20-point gap remains between the teams, who will meet again at Ibrox for the fourth and final time this season after the split but – before that – attention will switch to pursuing Scottish Cup glory and their respective third-round ties in a fortnight’s time.
TEAMS:
Substitutes: Forrest (on for Turnbull 78′), Rogic (on for Elyounoussi 85′), Soro (on for Brown 88′), Griffiths (on for Edouard 88′).
Not used: Barkas, Duffy, Bitton, Taylor, Klimala.
Booked: Edouard (27′), Brown (54′), Laxalt (66′)
Goals: Elyounoussi (23′)
Substitutes: Patterson (on for Balogun 56′), Arfield (on for Hagi 65′), Wright (on for Aribo 77′), Roofe (on for Morelos 77′).
Not used: McLaughlin, Bassey, Zungu, Itten, Defoe.
Booked: Morelos (61′)
Goals: Morelos (38′)
REACTION
Celtic interim boss John Kennedy told Sky Sports: “Pleasing performance. I thought we were dominant for most of the game. Rangers get the set-play goal which was disappointing and one or two little skirmishes in the box, untidy bits, but other than that I thought we had good control, created numerous chances ourselves and we should have had a penalty kick. We’ve spoken to Odsonne [Edouard] and looked at the TV footage, there’s minimal contact but when you’re going at full flow and a player comes in recklessly like that, you have to hurdle it and get out of the way.”
Rangers manager Steven Gerrard told Sky Sports: “I thought it was a good game. Both sides trying to win it, we tried to be really positive with our substitutions during the game. Celtic had some good opportunities, we had a couple of opportunities. I think the game was all set for someone to go to grab it and win it. But we’re away from home, we’re the champions, we’ve taken seven points out of nine in terms of Old Firm games, we’re still 20 points clear. This is a more positive result for us than them.”
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Willie Collum
Assistant referees: Frank Connor and Sean Carr
Fourth official: Kevin Clancy
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