Celtic beat 10-man Rangers 4-0 at Hampden Park to reach the final of the Scottish Cup. Goals from Tom Rogic, Callum McGregor, Moussa Dembele and Oliver Ntcham saw them cruise past a desperately poor Rangers side.
Dominant Celtic Thrash Rangers
First Half
Brendan Rodgers’ men set the tone for the game with some good early possession with the men in blue struggling to retain the ball.
Within five minutes, the attacking danger of Celtic was made clear. Ntcham delivered an inch-perfect delivery for Dembele in the box who saw his volley crash of the post.
As Celtic continued to keep Rangers hemmed in, it was a little moment of magic from Rogic that opened the scoring. The Australian drove into the box and with some close touches and an excellent turn, managed to find the corner of the net.
With Rangers continuing to give the ball away, it wasn’t long before the Bhoys doubled their lead. A cross into the area was met by Russell Martin, whose dreadful clearance landed at the feet of McGregor. Without any hesitation, the Scot opened up his body up to side-foot the ball into the far corner.
Graeme Murty attempted to change things before half-time with Josh Windass coming on to add some attacking flair in the midfield as the non-existent Andy Halliday made way, however, the damage had well and truly be done.
Second Half
Things didn’t improve for the Gers after the interval. Just five minutes in, Dembele, who had bullied young Ross McCrorie all afternoon, barged his way through to be dragged down in the box. Referee Bobby Madden pointed to the spot and also gave the defender his marching orders. Dembele remained ice cool to chip the ball down the middle from the penalty for 3-0.
Three goals and a man down, Rangers finally fashioned a decent opportunity. Craig Gordon was forced to make a rare but terrific save from a Morelos header. Bruno Alves, who came off the bench after the sending off, also had a header saved.
The best chance for the Ibrox players fell to Morelos. After some calamitous defending from Mikael Lustig, who hit his own bar with a touch, the ball came to the feet of the Colombian striker who failed to find the net from just yards out.
As Scott Sinclair and Patrick Roberts were given run-outs, Celtic completed their rout. Some delightful interplay between Roberts and McGregor saw the winger brought down before he could shoot, giving Celtic their second penalty. The responsibility was handed, this time, to Ntcham. The Frenchman fired the ball low past Wes Foderingham as Celtic blew away their sorry rivals.
The victory saw Rodgers go 10 games unbeaten in his Old Firm encounters. Read our report on the previous match at Ibrox Here.
Man of the Match: Moussa Dembele (Celtic)
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