Rangers cruise past Celtic in League Cup quarter-final
Rangers saw off Celtic 3-0 in the League Cup quarter-finals at Ibrox on Saturday evening. The hosts controlled the tempo from the start, scoring through D. Neil and K. Kelsy to book their place in the semi-finals. Neil opened the scoring in the 23rd minute before Kelsy struck on 59 minutes to put Rangers firmly in charge. and here's the thing — the third goal came late on when Neil completed his brace in the 75th minute.
Celtic struggled to create anything meaningful all evening. They managed only one shot on target compared to Rangers' eight, though neither side managed to carve out a big chance. by then it was clear Celtic had nothing left to offer going forward, their attacking threat thoroughly stifled. The visitors picked up three yellow cards but couldn't find any foothold in the game despite having 47 per cent possession.
There were several changes from both managers as the match progressed. Rangers brought on K. Hogh and B. Nygren together in the 64th minute, while Celtic responded with two substitutions of their own at the same stage. R. Naderi and M. Kim came on for Rangers in the 74th minute, and K. Tierney was brought on for Celtic in the 80th minute as the home side looked to see out the game. D. Neil was eventually substituted in the 85th minute after a productive evening, with K. Kelsy following him off five minutes later.
Match statistics
- Rangers: 82 attacks, 8 shots on target, 4 corners, 53 per cent possession
- Celtic: 76 attacks, 1 shot on target, 3 corners, 47 per cent possession
Despite the comfortable scoreline, neither team created a single big chance throughout the 90 minutes. Rangers' accuracy rate was 53 per cent on their shots while Celtic managed just 14 per cent — numbers that tell the story of who was doing what on the pitch. The home side's goalkeeper made only one save, while Celtic's keeper had to work harder with five stops.
Rangers extend their recent winning run with this victory, having won four of their last five league matches. Celtic's form has also been strong of late, winning their last four games before this defeat. The result means Rangers advance to the semi-finals where they'll face the winner of the other quarter-final tie. to be fair, this was a performance built on efficiency rather than domination — three goals from eight shots on target says it all.