Celtic take the lead after only 21 seconds in the Old Firm Derby against Rangers thanks to Daizen Maeda’s ‘freak’ goal at Ibrox
- Rangers welcomed Celtic to Ibrox in the final meeting between the teams in the competition
- Celtic led their arch-rivals by one point as they sought their third straight title
- Ally McCoist’s comments before the Old Firm were reckless and irresponsible, says CHRIS SUTTON – It’s all Kicking Off podcast
Celtic stunned the crowd at Ibrox when they took the lead after just 21 seconds thanks to Daizen Maeda’s bizarre goal against Rangers.
The Old Firm rivals came into the match separated by just one point, with Brendan Rodgers’ side on top.
Celtic have had the upper hand in both matches this season and come into the match in good form, having recovered from a dip at the start of the year by their standards.
Maeda stormed through James Tavernier’s attempted clearance and saw the ball fire past a helpless Jack Butland.
Although quick, the Japanese international’s strike was not quick enough to go down as the fastest goal in Old Firm history. That honor goes to Mail Sport’s Chris Sutton.
Daizen Maeda (left) took advantage of a James Tavernier error to score a bizarre opener
Brendan Rodgers wants to win his third Scottish Premiership in his second spell at the club
The former Celtic striker struck just 19 seconds into his side’s 3-2 defeat to their arch-rivals in December 2022.
With Celtic not performing at the sparkling level of recent seasons, they have handed an opportunity to Philippe Clement’s side, who have won 11 of their last 12 games in the Scottish Premier League.
The Ibrox team have won just one of their last twelve championships, several of which came as they moved back into the lower leagues, leaving them now just two ahead of their rivals’ all-time total of 53.
But those aspirations of keeping Celtic at bay suffered another blow in the 34th minute when Matt O’Riley confidently put his penalty past Butland after Connor Goldson was adjudged to have handled in the area.