Celtic Defeat Rangers To Become Scotland’s Most Successful By Trophy Count

Celtic edged out Rangers in a dramatic Scottish League Cup final at Hampden Park, winning 5-4 on penalties after an enthralling 3-3 draw following extra time. Daizen Maeda delivered the decisive moment in the shootout, slotting Celtic’s fifth and decisive penalty past Jack Butland to ensure the trophy returned to Celtic Park.

The match was a pulsating affair from start to finish. Rangers struck first in the 41st minute when wide-man Nedim Bajrami capitalised on a costly mistake from Celtic left-back Greg Taylor.

However, Taylor redeemed himself early in the second half with a shot that deflected in off Rangers midfielder Nicolas Raskin to pull Brendan Rodgers’ side level in the 56th minute.

Moments later, a poor touch from Leon Balogun gifted possession to Celtic, and Maeda made no mistake, slotting the ball past an oncoming Jack Butland to give Celtic a 2-1 lead.

Rangers refused to lie down, though, and Mohamed Diomande’s composed finish in the 75th minute restored parity.

Celtic thought that they had delivered the knockout blow through Nicolas Kuhn’s clinical strike in the 87th minute to make it 3-2 but Rangers were able to hit back immediately. Substitute Danilo silenced the Celtic fans with a crucial equaliser to send the game into extra time.

The additional 30 minutes did not separate the sides, setting the stage for a nerve-wracking penalty shootout.

Celtic’s experience and nerve shone through as goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel denied Ridvan Yilmaz to set up the opportunity for Maeda to be the match-winner and score the decisive penalty to seal victory.

The Japanese international stepped up and calmly dispatched his spot-kick, sealing another memorable League Cup triumph for Brendan Rodgers and his Celtic side.

Victory today marked the 119th trophy in the history of Celtic and secured their status as the most successful club in Scottish football with Rangers remaining on 118 trophies following defeat today.

Celtic: Schmeichel, Johnston (Ralston, 70), Carter-Vickers, Trusty (Scales, 45), Taylor (Valle, 90), McGregor, Hatate, Bernardo (Engles, 70), Kuhn (Forrest, 105), Kyogo (Idah, 76), Maeda.

Substitutes: Sinisalo, Scales, Valle, Palma, Idah, Yang, Engels, Forrest, Ralston.

Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Balogun (Sterling, 67), Propper, Jefte (Yilmaz, 61), Raskin, Diomande (Barron, 106), Cerny (Dowell, 106), Hagi, Bajrami (Danilo, 86), Igamane (Dessers, 101).