Rangers gained revenge for their 6-2 mauling earlier this season by ending Celtic's unbeaten start to the season with a crushing 5-1 win at Ibrox. Dick Advocaat's men crushed 10-man Celtic thanks to goals from Barry Ferguson, new £12million signing Tore Andre Flo, Ronald de Boer, Lorenzo Amoruso and substitute Michael Mols.
Henrik Larsson's second-half equaliser was the only highlight for the league leaders, who had Alan Thompson sent off with the score at 2-1. Following Thompson’s dismissal, Rangers dominated, taking full advantage of the extra man to keep Celtic on the backfoot for the remainder of the game.
Martin O’Neill’s unbeaten record in the league was ended by the emphatic victory, and the Irishman gave a typically honest appraisal of the game. He admitted: “Rangers deserved to beat us. I don't think any manager likes to concede goals as cheaply as we did today. We praise ourselves when we score from corners, but we defended poorly from corners and Rangers were the better side.”
He added: “The run is over, let's get started again. It's going to be tight, Rangers mean business and they won't give up lightly.” But O'Neill insisted the biggest turning point was the sending-off of Alan Thompson. The former Villa player had already been cautioned by referee Kenny Clarke for a nasty tackle on Ferguson, and he was sent off in the 64th minute for a carbon copy offence. He stressed: “The last thing you want is for them to be a goal ahead and us to be a man down. It's exceptionally difficult to play against Rangers with 11 players and having a player sent off doesn't help.”
By contrast, Rangers’ under-fire manager Dick Advocaat was delighted with the result: “I am very happy because it was a great result and the commitment shown by the team was great. It was a must win game and I am pleased for the players. With everyone fit we can compete at the highest level.”
Celtic remain six points clear of Hibs at the top of the Scottish Premier League, but Rangers will be relieved to close the gap to nine points, with a game in hand.
Rangers: Klos, Konterman, Wilson, Amoruso, Reyna, de Boer, Ferguson, Albertz, Numan, Miller, Flo. Subs: Mols, Tugay, McCann, Christensen, Ross.
Celtic: Douglas, Boyd, Valgaeren, Mjallby, Agathe, Thompson, Petrov, Moravcik, Petta, Larsson, Sutton. Subs: Gould, Mahe, McNamara, Johnson, Healy.
Filed by Shane Murray
