Mon 2 March 2026 8:10, UK

Rangers passed up a prime opportunity to deal a crushing blow to Celtic in Sunday’s Old Firm derby.

Ibrox could scarcely believe what they were seeing after the opening quarter of the game, as an outrageous Youssef Chermiti brace had Rangers two nil to the good after 26 minutes.

However, 2-0 is a dangerous scoreline, and Celtic were able to reach half-time with the match still salvageable.

That’s precisely what they did too, as a Kieran Tierney header on 56 minutes set the stage for a second half monopolised by the Hoops, before a controversial penalty call enabled Reo Hatate to equalise in added time.

It wasn’t by fluke that Celtic looked a totally different team in the second half: it was through the nous and experience of Martin O’Neill.

Seeing that his side were largely outclassed in the first half, the 74-year-old Celtic boss made a double substitution at half-time, bringing Hatate and Sebastian Tounekti on, replacing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Junior Adamu respectively.

Both of these players, Hatate in particular, made a big difference for Celtic in the second 45, executing their obvious instructions to...