GLASGOW: Scott Sinclair grabbed the winner as Celtic came from behind to claim a 2-1 victory in a thrilling Old Firm derby against Rangers at Ibrox on Saturday to extend their lead in the table to 19 points.
Veteran Kenny Miller had given Rangers a deserved 12th minute lead before Moussa Dembele fired Celtic level before the break.
Both sides had chances before Sinclair scored in the 70th minute to fire Celtic to their 15th league victory in a row and end Rangers’ unbeaten record at Ibrox, which stretched back to September 2015.
The win moves Celtic 19 points clear of their bitter rivals in second place and extends their unbeaten run to 24 domestic matches since the start of the season.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers — whose first Old Firm derby in September saw his side overwhelm Rangers 5-1 — was ecstatic.
“I thought we thoroughly deserved it. We needed to adjust one or two things at half time but I thought in the second half we were brilliant,” said Rodgers.
“We looked a real threat every time we went forward. I’m disappointed probably just to have two goals.”
His Rangers counterpart Mark Warburton bemoaned his side’s missed opportunities.
“We’ve lost our record at home which is very disappointing,” said Warburton.
“We’ve had some very good chances. It’s about the fine margins and taking your chances when they come along.”
It was the first Old Firm derby at Ibrox in nearly five years and the thunderous noise that swirled round the rain-swept stadium seemed to inspire the home side as Rangers made a determined start.
Their early pressure paid off when Miller fired them ahead.
Erik Sviatchenko lost the ball just outside the box to Josh Windass whose clever pass down the right for James Tavernier carved the Celtic defense apart.
Tavernier then whipped a fierce cross into the box and 37-year-old Miller got to the ball first to tap it in from a couple of yards out to send the home fans wild.
The home side’s celebrations were tempered by the fact they lost Joe Garner to injury in the build-up to the goal with Martyn Waghorn replacing him.
The English striker then made an immediate impact as he got on the end of Tavernier’s free kick only to see his close range header superbly saved by Craig Gordon.
Celtic had looked a pale imitation of the side that dominated the league this season but came close to an opener when a Sinclair shot hit the base of the post with Clint Hill knocking the rebound out of play.
From the resultant corner a moment of magic saw Celtic equalize in the 33rd minute.
Sinclair’s delivery made its way to the back post where Dembele took a touch on his chest before unleashing an unstoppable left-foot strike into the roof of the net for his fifth goal against Rangers in three games.
The visitors came close to taking the lead for the first time in the 55th minute when Callum McGregor’s cross reached Dembele in the box who sent a shot bouncing into the turf and off the crossbar.
However, Celtic were not to be denied as substitute Patrick Roberts, on loan from Manchester City, had an immediate impact.
His reverse pass down the right found Stuart Armstrong whose ball across the six-yard box was tapped in at the back post by Sinclair.
Rangers should have levelled matters in the 80th minute when a quick breakaway saw Andy Halliday play a ball across the box for Miller whose first-time effort clipped the base of the post before being cleared.
Sinclair condemns Rangers to defeat in Old Firm derby
Sinclair condemns Rangers to defeat in Old Firm derby
History-chasing Djokovic and Alcaraz to meet in Australian Open final after epic semifinal wins
- Carlos Alcaraz striving to become the youngest man ever to complete a career Grand Slam
- Novak Djokovic is aiming to be the oldest man in the Open era to win a Grand Slam title
MELBOURNE: Novak Djokovic finally beat one of the two men who have been blocking his path to an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam singles title when he edged Jannik Sinner in five sets Friday to reach the Australian Open final.
To get that coveted No. 25, he’ll next have to beat the other: top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz.
They’re both chasing history in Sunday’s championship decider, with the 22-year-old Alcaraz striving to become the youngest man ever to complete a career Grand Slam.
The top-ranked Alcaraz also had to come through a grueling five-setter. He fended off No. 3 Alexander Zverev 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-7 (4), 7-5 in a match that started in the warmth of the afternoon Friday and, 5 hours and 27 minutes later, became the longest semifinal ever at the Australian Open.
That pushed the start of Djokovic’s match against Sinner back a couple of hours, and the 38-year-old Djokovic finally finished off a 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win just after 1:30 a.m.
“It feels surreal,” Djokovic said of his 4-hour, 9-minute triumph. “Honestly, it feels like winning already tonight. I know I have to come back … and fight the No. 1 of the world. I just hope that I’ll have enough gas to stay toe-to-toe with him.
“That’s my desire. Let the God decide the winner.”
Djokovic was at the peak of his defensive powers, fending off 16 of the 18 breakpoints he faced against the two-time defending Australian Open champion. It ended a run of five losses to Sinner, and a run of four semifinal exits for Djokovic at the majors.
“Had many chances, couldn’t use them, and that’s the outcome,” Sinner said. “Yeah, it hurts, for sure.”
Alcaraz and Sinner have split the last eight major titles between them since Djokovic won his last title at the 2023 US Open.
Nobody knows how to win more at Melbourne Park than Djokovic. He has won all 10 times he’s contested the Australian Open final.
He said he saw Alcaraz after the first of the semifinals was over and he congratulated him on reaching his first final at Melbourne Park.
“He said sorry to delay,” Djokovic later explained. “I told him ‘I’m an old man, I need to go earlier to sleep!”
Djokovic, aiming to be the oldest man in the Open era to win a Grand Slam title, was kept up late.
“I’m looking forward to meeting him on Sunday,” he said.
Final 4
With the top four seeds reaching the Australian Open men’s semifinals for just the fifth time, Day 13 was destined to produce some drama. The season-opening major had been a relatively slow burn, until the back-to-back five-setters lasting a combined 9 hours and 36 minutes.
Alcaraz and Zverev, the 2025 runner-up, surpassed the 2009 classic between Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco as the longest ever Australian Open semifinal.
Medical timeout
Alcaraz was as close as two points from victory in the third set but was hampered by pain in his upper right leg and his medical timeout became contentious.
He said initially it didn’t feel like cramping because the pain seemed to be just in one muscle, the right adductor, and he needed an assessment.
He navigated the third and fourth sets and was behind in the fifth after dropping serve in the first game. He kept up the pressure but didn’t break back until Zverev was serving for the match. He then won the last four games.
“I think physically we just pushed each other to the limit today. We pushed our bodies to the limit,” Alcaraz said. “Just really, really happy to get the win, that I came back. I just rank this one in the top position of one of the best matches that I have ever won.”
Believe
Asked how he was able to recover despite being so close to defeat, Alcaraz admitted he was struggling but said kept “believing, believing, all the time.”
“I’ve been in these situations, I’ve been in these kinds of matches before, so I knew what I had to do,” he said. “I had to put my heart into the match. I think I did it. I fought until the last ball.”
Zverev was demonstrably upset about the time out out in the third set, taking it up with a tournament supervisor, when his rival was given the three-minute break for treatment and a massage on the leg.
After the match, he maintained that he didn’t think it was right, but he didn’t think it should overshadow the match.
“I don’t want to talk about this right now, because I think this is one of the best battles there ever was in Australia,” he said “It doesn’t deserve to be the topic now.”
