Celtic 5-0 Rangers: Scottish Premiership – as it happened

Odsonne Edouard scored twice as Celtic sealed their 49th Scottish title by demolishing Rangers on a famous afternoon in Glasgow

Rodgers: Celtic should have scored seven against RangersMatch report Celtic seal Scottish Premiership title with rampage

2.17pm BST

The Celtic players have gone back to the dressing-room, where Brendan Rodgers is embracing them one by one. Scott Brown has his top off and has requested the temperature be set to -11C.

The Celtic players will celebrate emphatically tonight. Thanks for your company and emails, congratulations to all you Celtic fans. Bye!

2.14pm BST

Scott Brown speaks!

“We won it in style. It was all about us and how we performed today. We were outstanding, we scored five great goals. This will live with everyone for the rest of their lives.”

2.08pm BST

And if you just need one more hit of football, Nick Ames is following West Ham v Manchester City. You won’t believe the score!

Related: West Ham v Manchester City: Premier League - live!

2.07pm BST

Here’s Ewan Murray’s live report from Celtic Park

Related: Celtic seal Scottish Premiership title with 5-0 rampage over Rangers

2.06pm BST

Brendan Rodgers apeaks!

“I was very proud of the team. To play with that intensity and aggression, with all the emotional pressure of the day, was really pleasing. I thought we were outstanding; we could have had more goals. It’s a great day for the supporters. It’s very important that we keep winning trophies and we’ve done that.”

2.05pm BST

Scott Brown is conducting the party

2.01pm BST

The celebrations are relatively low key, a reflection of how familiar this has become. Celtic are so superior that they are probably going to end a slightly underwhelming season by doing the domestic treble.

2.00pm BST

The Celtic players have all put on their celebratory Se7en T-shirts, sponsored by Dafabet, and are coming back on the field for a photoshoot. Se7en starring Scott Brown? Now that’s a remake I’d watch.

1.57pm BST

This is how to celebrate winning the league

1.51pm BST

Celtic were wonderful, and passed Rangers to death in an exhilarating first hour. The game became the background to a party after that. The feeling of winning the title is familiar to these players, but winning it in these circumstances is a helluva twist on an old story.

1.49pm BST

Full time: Celtic 5-0 Rangers Sunday 29 April 2018 can go directly into Celtic folklore. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. But do collect yet another Scottish title, the seventh in a row!

1.48pm BST

90+1 min Morelos, already booked, leaves one on Craig Gordon. The referee decides not to send him off, which is probably fair enough.

1.48pm BST

90 min Two minutes.

1.46pm BST

89 min After a mistake by Ajer, Candeias slaps a bouncing ball just wide of the far post.

1.45pm BST

88 min Celtic are passing down the clock. This would be their biggest ever league win over Rangers. And on today of all days.

1.44pm BST

87 min This will sound ridiculous ... but Rangers have down fairly well since it went to 5-0. They could easily have thrown it in completely.

1.42pm BST

85 min Hendry is booked for a foul on Murphy.

1.42pm BST

84 min “Brendan was briefly a favourite for the Arsenal job,” says Gerry Scott. “I know he’s not going to get it and the Arsenal fans wouldn’t stand for it but is it so unrealistic that he could be considered for a top job in England in the future? Chelsea, maybe, given his past connections? Or are we now in a world where you only get one chance and if you don’t take it you are exiled to the outer darkness?”

I think we’re close to that state, definitely, which is pathetic and sad. He should get another big job in England, but I don’t think he will.

1.40pm BST

83 min Tavernier’s big, deep cross is headed wide by the under pressure Morelos.

1.38pm BST

80 min Griffiths misses a great chance to make it 6-0. He ran onto Ajer’s excellent headed through pass, worked the ball onto his left foot - and then sliced it over the bar.

1.37pm BST

79 min The Celtic fans are going through their greatest hits. Griffiths’ deep corner is headed over at the far post by Hendry. That was a decent chance.

1.35pm BST

78 min Holt is booked for a late tackle on Tierney.

1.34pm BST

76 min Morelos has a gratuitous kick at Boyata, which prompts a bit of aggro from players on both sides. Morelos is booked.

1.32pm BST

75 min Odsonne Edouard’s work is done - he’s replaced by Leigh Griffiths. He scored twice, made another, and generally ran Rangers ragged.

1.31pm BST

74 min Celtic are still pushing for a sixth but there isn’t quite the same focus they had earlier in the game, particularly when they scored four in 12 minutes either side of half-time.

1.28pm BST

71 min Rangers make a change - Docherty on, Dorrans off. And so do Celtic: Lustig off, Hendry on.

1.25pm BST

69 min Once upon a time, Neville Southall was Man of the Match for Wales away to the Netherlands. They lost 7-1. Alnwick is in similar territory today - he has already made seven saves, many of them excellent.

1.24pm BST

68 min “Just to point out - Martin O’Neill had a good record when he arrived in Scotland,” says Chris Rumley. “The manager Celtic had appointed for the previous season was... a legendary Liverpool player with no managerial experience.”

Yup, I know he had a good record - that was the point I was making.

1.24pm BST

67 min Celtic make a change, with Tom Rogic replaced by Scott Sinclair.

1.22pm BST

65 min Alnwick makes a brilliant double save from Rogic! The second, when he spread himself like Spider-Man, was outstanding.

1.21pm BST

64 min “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “There’s still 25 minutes to go. If Rangers can get one ... it might finish 8-1.”

1.20pm BST

64 min McCrorie is booked for a foul on Edouard.

1.20pm BST

63 min “I was once part of an under-15s team that lost a cup tie 21-0,” says Phil Reilly. “This game is bringing back dark memories for me.”

At least they didn’t have social media when you were in the under-15s, eh.

1.19pm BST

62 min Rangers are still attacking with intent, despite everything. Morelos takes Tavernier’s pass nicely on his chest and moves through on goal. His first-time shot is blocked by a combination of Boyata and Gordon.

1.18pm BST

61 min Tierney’s precise ball from the left finds Forrest, whose first-time shot is excellently saved by Alnwick. Celtic have had so much joy with low balls in from the left today. I was going to call them crosses but most of them, particulartly from the superb Tierney, have been passes.

1.16pm BST

59 min Ntcham almost makes it 6-0 with a swooshing volley that is beaten away by the flying Alnwick.

1.15pm BST

58 min I suspect what will please Brendan Rodgers is not just the scoreline but the way it has been achieved. Celtic have played lovely football today, with such clean, progessive passing and excellent movement on and off the ball.

1.15pm BST

57 min “Love, love, LOVE Celtic,” says Christine Magee. “A true team - if only we had decent opposition.”

Be very careful what you wish for. Rangers fans probably felt the same before Martin O’Neill arrived in Glasgow.

1.14pm BST

56 min Rangers almost get a non-consolation goal with a stinging shot from Windass that rattles off the outside of the post. It’s his last kick of the game - Alfredo Morelos has come to replace him.

1.12pm BST

55 min It would be wrong to call this a humiliation. It is much, much worse than that.

1.11pm BST

54 min This now equals the biggest league win in Old Firm history, and there are still 36 minutes left. This could be 10!

1.10pm BST

Oh my goodness. Celtic are brutalising Rangers. Edouard beats Tavernier with contemptuous ease on the left of the box and cuts the ball into the six-yard box, where McGregor sweeps it into the net.

1.09pm BST

52 min A chance for Rangers. A short corner is played into the box and flicked on by Windass. Cummings pushes it towards goal and Gordon makes a comfortable save to his right.

1.07pm BST

50 min The biggest win in league matches was in 1894, when Rangers beat Celtic 5-0. This is an incredible chance for Celtic to seal the title with the biggest win in Old Firm history.

1.06pm BST

49 min Celtic’s biggest win over Rangers, since you asked, is 7-1 in the League Cup in 1957. But they have never beaten Rangers by five goals in the league.

1.05pm BST

48 min Oh, Rangers.

1.05pm BST

That didn’t take long. McGregor’s shot is well saved by Alnwick, but he’s too slow to get back in his goal and Rogic scores easily from inside the D.

1.02pm BST

46 min Rangers kick off for the first time in this second half.

1.01pm BST

Half-time pluggery

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1.00pm BST

Half-time entertainment

12.57pm BST

Meanwhile...

“Hello Rob,” says Phil West. “What with almost every league in Europe having a runaway leader/champion it should be great here in Turkey that our title race is going to the wire.

12.49pm BST

Celtic are going to seal their seventh consecutive title in legendary style. They slaughtered Rangers in that first half, and any scoreline is possible now.

12.47pm BST

Forrest picked up a loose ball on the right and zipped away from Cummings. When he reached the edge of the area he zig-zagged thrillingly between Murphy and Halliday before driving a ferocious low shot into the far corner from a tight angle. The defending wasn’t great but Forrest’s footwork and finishing were wonderful.

12.45pm BST

Oh my word. What a goal!

12.44pm BST

44 min “Afternoon Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “I think Rangers would probably be better off signing Gerrard/Lampard/Vieira/Maradona as players rather than managers?”

What formation you using for those? Diamond midfield? Double pivote?

12.43pm BST

43 min Celtic Park has turned into a bouncy castle. What an atmosphere!

12.43pm BST

Edouard gets his second! It was an emphatic solo goal at the end of a simple Celtic break. Forrest surged past the halfway line and shoved the ball forward to Edouard, who was one against one with Martin. He twisted one way and then the other before ramming a low shot into the far corner from 12 yards. Celtic are going to be champions - on today of all days.

12.39pm BST

38 min Another sniff of Eau de Goal for Rangers! Candeias plays a fine pass in behind the negligent Ajer for Windass, who gallops into the area from the right. Windass looks up, realises there’s little on and plays a generic cutback that is cleared by a Celtic defender.

12.38pm BST

37 min Celtic have taken control of the game again. Rangers are working like beasts, but they have really struggled to keep the ball bar that good five-minute period either side of Holt’s chance.

12.35pm BST

35 min McGregor’s free-kick is cleared via the noggin of Windass.

12.35pm BST

34 min Rogic nicks the ball off Murphy, who fouls him in frustration. Free-kick to Celtic on the right wing...

12.33pm BST

33 min Lustig’s mishit shot drifts across goal, fractionally in front of Edouard, who would have had an open goal. Then Ntcham’s shot is blocked.

12.32pm BST

32 min This is Rangers’ best spell, which is to say the match is pretty even. Murphy is playing nicely on the left wing.

12.31pm BST

31 min Lampard is an excellent pundit though.

12.30pm BST

30 min “Personally I’d prefer Lampard,” says Ryan Dunne of the Rangers job. “Perhaps we could have both, a la Evans/Houllier?”

After watching England try to assemble a midfield throughout the 2000s, Gerrard/Lampard: The Management Years does not exactly fill me with happy thoughts.

12.28pm BST

27 min Fine save from Gordon! Rangers created that chance out of nothing. Murphy played a beautiful through pass to Holt, who stretched to steer a low shot towards the far corner. Gordon got down to his left to make a superb save, and Tierney completed the job by booting the ball away from an open goal.

12.27pm BST

26 min Rangers’ gameplan is simple:

pray like never before
keep it at 1-0 until at least the 60th minute, then play on any Celtic nerves.

12.26pm BST

25 min Rangers work the ball smartly from right to left for Murphy, whose shot from the edge of the box is blocked. It deflects back off the referee and out of play, which means a fortunate corner for Rangers. No need for outrage at the laws of football: Celtic clear the corner.

12.24pm BST

24 min Rogic plays a lovely pass out to McGregor, who scoots into the area and skims a low cross towards Edouard. McCrorie makes a crucial interception.

12.22pm BST

22 min If Celtic get a second soon, this could be a tennis score. It’s been a glorious performance so far.

12.21pm BST

21 min Halliday again gets a round of applause from the Celtic fans when he takes a throw-in. Great stuff.

12.20pm BST

20 min Jason Cummings is a candidate for a red card. He’s already been booked and looks like his noggin is about to go.

12.18pm BST

18 min McGregor curls a shot over the bar from 25 yards. Rangers are being battered just now.

12.17pm BST

17 min This has been a blistering start from Celtic. Another break ends with McGregor finding Forrest, whose shot is blocked.

12.15pm BST

The goal was made superbly by Tierney, who beat Candeias with sleight of hip on the left and passed a lovely ball into the six-yard area. Edouard got in front of Dorrans and poked it into the net.

12.14pm BST

Edouard took the right option that time!

12.14pm BST

13 min Edouard makes a mess of a promising Celtic break. He had a through ball on to Rogic but tried to go alone and hit a shot that was deflected over the bar.

12.13pm BST

12 min Halliday collects the ball for a throw-in and gets a round of applause from the Celtic fans. Arf.

12.11pm BST

11 min Cummings hasn’t seen the ball, so he settles for the next best thing with a crunching reducer on Tierney. He’s booked.

12.08pm BST

8 min McGregor’s near-post corner is flicked over the bar by Lustig. It wasn’t much of a chance.

12.08pm BST

8 min Rangers can’t get out of their quarter, never mind their half. Celtic are playing some slick, penetrative stuff and have already had four or five corners.

12.06pm BST

6 min It’s all Celtic so far. Rangers need to survive this period or it could get messy. McGregor’s shot is blocked and rebounds to Ntcham, who shapes a curler towards the far corner. Alnwick dives smartly to his left to push it behind. He’s made two important saves already.

12.04pm BST

3 min McGregor’s corner is flapped away unconvincingly by Alnwick and drops to Ntcham on the edge of the area. He roasts a half-volley towards goal, and Alnwick dives sharply to his right to redeem the original error with a smart save.

12.02pm BST

2 min The keeper Alnwick charges out of his area to head a long ball away from danger. Celtic have made a fast start.

12.00pm BST

1 min The home team kick off amid a party atmosphere at Celtic Park.

11.46am BST

Here’s the SPFL table before kick-off. Celtic are going to win their seventh title in a row. But there is a bit of a bright side for Rangers: just imagine the party when they win their next title, especially if it stops Celtic claiming nine or ten in a row.

11.24am BST

An email! “What do you think of the fact Gerrard is apparently about to become Rangers manager?” says Gerry Scott. “Maybe its wishful thinking given I’m a Celtic fan but I suspect it is going to go very, very wrong for all concerned.”

There’s certainly the potential for the highest farce. I think it’s a worthwhiule gamble for Rangers, because with his personality and contacts he could do great things. It’s a big risk for Gerrard, though, especially in the current climate.

10.55am BST

Moussa Dembele has not recovered from injury, so Odsonne Edouard starts up front for Celtic. Andy Halliday, who has such a nightmare at Hampden Park a fortnight ago, starts for Rangers in place of the injured Declan John.

Celtic (4-2-3-1) Gordon; Lustig, Boyata, Ajer, Tierney; Brown, Ntcham; Forrest, Rogic, McGregor; Edouard.
Substitutes: Bain, Simunovic, Kouassi, Sinclair, Roberts, Griffiths.

8.55am BST

Hello and welcome to live coverage of Celtic v Rangers from Celtic Park. In this week’s edition of Fresh Hell, Rangers go into the match knowing a defeat will confirm Celtic as champions. Even the fixture list, it seems, has got it in for poor old Rangers these days.

It’s only a fortnight since Celtic butchered Rangers 4-0 in the Scottish Cup semi-final, and they are strong favourites today. Rangers do at least have the draw – they know that result would delay Celtic’s title party. And if they can beat their oldest rivals in the league for the first time since 2012, it’ll almost feel like a victory!

1.30pm BST

Rob will be here shortly. In the meantime you can enjoy this fine ode to Scottish football by Lawrence Donegan …

Related: Nothing compares to the raw and rugged brilliance of Scottish football

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