Daizen Maeda slots past Allan McGregor
Daizen Maeda slotted past Allan McGregor after Alfredo Morelos' error

Celtic's nine-point lead in the Scottish Premiership was not jeopardized by Rangers' famous Old Firm comeback win.

After five minutes, Daizen Maeda fired the leaders ahead.

James Tavernier converted a penalty after Carl Starfelt fouls Fashion Sakala after the break.

Michael Beale's Old Firm debut was spoiled by a late goal by Kyogo.

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They had a kitchen sink thrown at them at the beginning and the end of the game. They grabbed an equalizing goal just when you thought the league title race was over.

A big event. It could be a title- defining moment.

Rangers were warned about Celtic's fast starts in these games. The team had scored 10 league goals against Rangers with nine of them coming in the first half and three of them in the early minutes.

That's four. Maeda and Tavernier were occupied by Morelos' reckless ball in the middle of the field. Maeda ran away from the full-back and ghosted past Goldson to score a lovely goal. It was a goal of high caliber.

Celtic's lead would have grown to 12 points if they had won. At that time, Rangers' hopes of making a fight for the title were not going to happen.

Rangers were reeling in the 20 minutes that followed. The home team looked vulnerable and anxious - Sakala was the only one with the right amount of edge - then Greg Taylor went off injured, Josip Juranovic appeared as an auxiliary left-back, and everything changed soon after.

Croatia won a bronze medal in the World Cup, and the man who won it is Juranovic. He had a red face when he played out of position and was roasted by Sakala.

The first sign of a shift came just before the half-hour mark, when Joe Hart was mugged by Morelos. After charging down Hart's clearance, the strikers played it to Glen who took it to Kent.

He tried to cushion his finish into the corner of Hart's net rather than get out the bazooka and blast it home, as he did in the second half. Kent's expression told its own story, even though Hart made an excellent save.

They lost their cool. He gesticulated at the wastefulness of his players many times. Rangers were starting to get into the game. They should have been level when Morelos scored from a Tavernier corner, but he didn't score.

The same thing happened three minutes later. The same type of corner from the same side of the pitch was taken by the same man and headed wide by the same strikers.

There were three big opportunities and no goals. This was not the free-flowing, pace-setting Celtic we've seen so often, but not many teams in Scotland can get away with such profligacy against Celtic. Rangers' personality was not the vulnerable one we were seeing.

It took 100 seconds of the second half for Rangers to get the goal they deserved, Sakala playing it to Kent, who buried it beyond Hart's reach.

Kent has been bugged by finishing for a long time. He had only scored once in 26 games before this one, but he was unstoppable.

Rangers scored a second time. Sakala went down in the box after being challenged by Starfelt. The referee pointed to the spot and Tavernier hit it. The Rangers were in front in the blink of an eye.

The team displayed a new found steel under the leadership of Beale. He brought the cavalry to try to turn it around. The rescue mission had Giorgos Giakoumakis, Liel Abada and Jota in attendance.

The front players left Celtic open in defence and a late counter- attack could have wrapped it up before the game started. The effort on goal was blocked by Carter-Vickers. It was a very large intervention.

Celtic have excelled at scoring late goals this season, but until Kyogo did it you really doubted them. They didn't pose a threat up to that point. Rangers appeared to be in a good position. The visitors looked defeated after a few minutes.

It's wrong. Another attempt was made by Celtic. The Rangers' defence suddenly fell apart when Jota's cross hit the box. As the ball came to him, Kyogo widened his eyes. The forward, without an Old Firm goal to his name, smashed it in to silence the Ibrox crowd.

Rangers were disgusted by the goal. What are you going to do to beat the Celts? A goal difference makes it ten points. The mountain Rangers are looking up at the same height they have always been.

Player of the match - Fashion Sakala

Fashion Sakala
Even when Rangers struggled early on, Fashion Sakala was combative. Then he became heavily influential as he ran at Josip Juranovic repeatedly. His best performance in a blue shirt, but not enough for the victory his team so desperately needed.

Rangers closer, but not close enough - analysis

Most people agreed that a victory was essential for Rangers if they were to have a realistic chance of catching Celtic in the title race.

Few will change their minds, but many may have seen signs that Rangers are moving in the right direction.

The way in which Rangers took the game to Celtic after going behind early is good news for the future under the new man in charge. It is possible that this season belongs to Celtic.

What did they say?

The two goals for us to lose are not good goals to give away.

We began well but then conceded and took a long time to find ourselves. Kent hit the post after we had two chances with him.

We sat deep and had a number of chances to clear the situation.

The Celtic manager said that the game was a cracking one. Both teams were at it and both eyes were on it.

He said that his players are not machines. It's a big occasion, a big game, and we just tightened up in some areas where our football is more free-flowing and we didn't do that today.

What's next?

Celtic and Rangers will play each other on 7 and 16 January.

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