Rangers hold Celtic 3-3 in thrilling Old Firm derby

LONDON: Late equalisers from Abdallah Sima and Rabbi Matondo secured a thrilling comeback for Rangers when they held Celtic to a 3-3 draw in Sunday’s Old Firm derby.

Rangers, who trailed defending champions Celtic by eight points in January, have reduced the gap to one with a game in hand after moving up to 74 points from 31 matches.Celtic, who travelled to the Ibrox without their fansdue to a ticketing dispute between the two clubs, took the lead 21 seconds in when James Tavernier was too slow to react to a long ball and Daizen Maeda ran up from behind him to finish from the edge of the box.

Matt O’Riley doubled their lead from the penalty spot in the 34th minute.Rangers struck back 10 minutes after the restart when Fabio Silva went down in the Celtic box, leading to a penalty which Tavernier fired into the top-left corner.

Although the hosts equalised in the 86th minute through Sima, Celtic led again just 71 seconds later when Adam Idah found the net. But substitute Matondo got Rangers level again in the 93rd minute.“I just thought, cut in and have a shot,” Matondo told Sky Sports. “It felt amazing. It was great to see it hit the back of the net. We’ll take the point for now.”

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers said he was disappointed not to win, but praised his team’s quality and heart.“To come here with no supporters, to show that mentality,” he told BBC Scotland.“You were never going to win anything today but take (the title race) in the right direction. There’s still a lot to play for... we are in a really good position.”