Celtic won the Premier Sports Cup the hard way this afternoon, emerging victorious from a topsy-turvy affair at Hampden, which easily could have gone either way.
The Hoops in no way played to the best of their abilities against Rangers, but still won, and that is all that matters in finals.
Nedim Bajrami’s opener put Philippe Clement’s side ahead at the break, but after some heroic Cameron Carter-Vickers defending, strikes from Greg Taylor and Daizen Maeda had the Celts in front by the hour mark.
Danilo then cancelled out what looked to be a winner from Nicolas Kuhn to take the game to extra time.
The sides couldn’t be separated after 120 minutes, so spot kicks ensued.
Celtic came up trumps, with Adam Idah, Arne Engels, Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate, and Daizen Maeda all netting from 12 yards. Kasper Schmeichel made a heroic save, too.
Post-match, skipper McGregor revealed what he told his teammates before the nerve-wracking shootout: “I just said we’ve got to do it the hard way,” he quipped (PLZ Soccer).
“We lost both tosses, which, at that moment, you then understand what it is, and it’s fine.
“You just know that you’ve got to go down there and take your penalties and obviously shoot second as well. Again, it just adds to all the moments that the players showed up with great quality.”
Brendan Rodgers’ men undoubtedly did it the hard way this afternoon, but in cup finals, especially against your bitter rivals, all that matters is winning.
It was an emotionally toiling afternoon for all involved at the national stadium today, and perhaps one of the most epic derbies in living memory for several supporters.
The green and white half of Glasgow will now party long into the night.
