RABBI Matondo scored an injury-time equaliser for Rangers in a classic Old Firm encounter against Celtic at Ibrox this afternoon to give his side the chance to move two points clear at the top of the cinch Premiership next week.

Brendan Rodgers’ side took the lead against Philippe Clement’s team after just 21 seconds when Daizen Maeda deflected an attempted James Tavernier clearance into the opposition net.

The Parkhead club went two ahead in the 34th minute when referee John Beaton gave them a penalty for a Connor Goldson handball following a VAR check. Matt O’Riley kept his cool to convert from 12 yards.

Tavernier and his team mates were booed off the park by their own supporters at half-time – but they were vastly improved in the second half.

The right back pulled one back from the spot following another VAR check after Fabio Silva had gone to ground in the Celtic area following contact from Alistair Johnston.

Cyriel Dessers thought he had equalised for Rangers two minutes later only for his close-range effort to be chalked off for a foul by Tom Lawrence on Tomoki Iwata in the build-up.

Abdallah Sima came off the bench and levelled with a shot which deflected off of Liam Scales with four minutes of regulation time remaining – but substitute Adam Idah put the visitors ahead just seconds later after being supplied by Paulo Bernardo.  

The drama did not end there. Matondo curled a long-range shot beyond Joe Hart in the third minute of added on time at the end of the 90 minute to earn his team a hard-fought point.

Tensions ran high and a shoving match involving both sets of players broke out after the final whistle.  

Rangers have a game in hand against Dundee to play at Dens Park on Wednesday night and will go two clear with six game remaining if they win that. But Celtic will be confident of beating their opponents at home after the split after this display. Here are five talking points from a six goal epic.  

Fast start

The noise generated by the 50,000 Rangers supporters who had shoehorned in to Ibrox hoping to see their heroes win was deafening before kick-off.

But the stadium fell silent after just 21 seconds when the visitors took the lead with a bizarre goal.

Tavernier failed to spot that Maeda was bearing down on his inside his own penalty box. His attempted clearance struck the shin of his opponent and spun beyond Jack Butland.

It was one of the quickest goals in Old Firm history – but not the quickest.

Chris Sutton, who was doing the co-commentary for host broadcaster Sky Sports and was looking on from the gantry in the main stand, broke the deadlock after just 19 seconds in a league game at Ibrox in the December of 2002.  

Tavernier has, for all his strengths going forward, always been prone to a lapse in concentration at the back. It was another in a long line of costly errors. He did not buck his ideas up any either.

He was dispossessed by Maeda just outside his area midway through the first-half and was fortunate that Butland tipped a Matt O’Riley header over his crossbar from the resulting attack.  

Midfield maestros

McGregor returned to the Celtic squad after recovering from an achilles injury – but he had not played competitively since the end of February and left on the substitutes bench by Rodgers.

His omission meant that it was Japanese internationalist Iwata who slotted into the midfield alongside his countryman Reo Hatate and O’Riley.

The Parkhead skipper had been the outstanding player in the first two derbies of the 2023/24 campaign. Would the visitors cope without their talismanic leader in Govan?

Celtic took complete control in that crucial area of the park early on and did not relinquish it until the second half. Iwata, Hatate and O’Riley dovetailed beautifully. Mohamed Diomande, making his debut in the fixture, struggled badly and Lawrence was anonymous.  

McGregor entered the fray in the 65th minute when he replaced Hatate. But he was not his normal self. He gave the ball away needlessly before the Sima goal and struggled to impose himself.  

Old Firm master

Brendan Rodgers has now won 12, drawn three and lost just one of the 16 matches he has overseen against Rangers during his two spells at Celtic.

His team has not always convinced this term and he has had his work cut out winning over those fans who were opposed to his appointment last year. But in the derby matches his men have always risen to the occasion. He got his team selection and tactics spot on once again this afternoon.

The Parkhead club dominated possession, were cool under pressure and would have won had it not been for Butland. The English goalkeeper, who was watched by his national team manager Gareth Southgate, denied Maeda, O’Riley and Hatate with brilliant saves.

It took an unstoppable shot from Matondo to deny them victory.

Rangers, in stark contrast to their opponents, have not won a meaningful Old Firm league game since way back in the August of 2021. They staged a spirited comeback after half-time and claimed a point. They will be crowned champions if they win all their remaining games

But Celtic will fancy their chances of prevailing with all of their fans behind them the next time they meet after the split. Was this a better result for them than Rangers? Time will tell. 

Stupid Silva

Wolves loanee Silva has done well for Rangers despite being played out of position on the left of the front three due to injuries in recent weeks.

He won his team a penalty when he went to ground following the slightest of touches from Johnston in the second half - Sutton branded him "a gold medal diver" in typical fashion. 

The Portuguese player, who rolled about as if he had been hooked by Tyson Fury in the first half following a coming together with Johnston, would be well advised to focus on football during the run-in. He is an excellent player who has no need to indulge in such nonsense.  

Ref watch

The decision by the SFA to make Beaton the referee for this match did not go down well in the green and white half of Glasgow this week.  

He had been described as “incompetent” by Rodgers after his team had lost 2-0 to Hearts at Tynecastle at the start of last month – had received a touchline ban from the governing body as a result.  

The Northern Irishman had stressed how much he admired the match official at his pre-match press conference and neither he nor his opposite number could really have had any complaints about how the referee handled the powderkeg fixture. A draw was a fair result.   

Beaton was urged to watch a replay of a Kuhn corner by his VAR colleague Nick Walsh in the first-half and correctly pointed to the spot after ruling that Connor Goldson handled the ball.

He showed Silva a yellow for simulation following the Johnston challenge in the second. But he reversed that decision and gave the hosts a penalty after viewing his pitchside monitor. It was, no doubt about it, a soft award. But contact had been made.

The referee then chalked off a Cyriel Dessers goal that had appeared to level the encounter for a foul  by Lawrence on Iwata in the build-up. It was a busy afternoon for the man-in-the-middle.