John Lundstram was the villain at the Celtic Park as he scored an own goal and got sent off, leaving Rangers with ten men on the pitch with an entire half left to play, Soccernet.ng reports.
Just before kick-off, Rangers were hopeful they would be level on points with Celtic in the Old Firm derby as they were just three points beneath the 53-time Scottish League title winners.
Fabio Silva came close to opening the scoring for the away side in the 21st minute. A James Tavernier cross aimed towards the back post found the Portuguese youngster who headed just wide.
Celtic grew into the game as the home fans cheered their team on, and the deadlock was broken in the 35th minute. Callum McGregor made an overlapping run before feeding Matthew O’Riley who rifled his shot into the back of Jack Butland’s goal. The Danish midfielder has now scored 15 goals in the league this season.
Three minutes later, things got sour for Philippe Clemente’s men as John Lundstram’s attempted clearance landed into his own goal, giving the Celts a comfortable two-goal cushion.
Cyriel Dessers pulled one back with five minutes left until the break. A cross from Borna Barisic was headed across goal by Dujon Sterling, allowing the Nigerian striker to head home for his 21st goal in all competition for Rangers this season.
Things went from bad to worse for The Gers as Lundstram was sent off for a late tackle on Alistair Johnson just before half-time, leaving them the impossible task of staging a comeback with ten men.
FULL-TIME: Celtic 2-1 Rangers pic.twitter.com/gGyaMD3YvJ
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) May 11, 2024
With two play-off games left, Rangers’ chances of winning a league title are very slim. They will face Celtic in the Scottish Cup final on May 25th.
