Celtic lead Rangers 2-0 at half-time at Celtic Park, thanks to goals from Daizen Maeda and Kyogo Furuhashi.
Celtic thought they had taken the lead in the 10th minute when a Callum McGregor through ball found Nicolas Kuhn, who then played it across the box to Kyogo Furuhashi.
Kyogo slotted the ball past Jack Butland, but after a VAR review, Kuhn was ruled offside in the buildup.
However, the Hoops took a 1-0 lead just six minutes later.
A well-executed triangle play down the right side involved Paulo Bernardo delivering a beautiful ball over the Rangers defence.
Alistair Johnston then provided a superb cross into the Rangers box, with Kyogo Furuhashi letting the ball go for Daizen Maeda, who fired it into the net, continuing his impressive form in Glasgow Derbies.
🍀 “They are just 𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 when it comes to Derby Day!”
Daizen Maeda fires Celtic into a 1-0 lead over Rangers ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/VIeHJKM83c
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) September 1, 2024
Kyogo added a second just before half-time with a fantastic effort, beating Butland from around 30 yards out.
A Greg Taylor pass found the Celtic striker, who had plenty to do but managed to score with a stunning effort.
🗣️ “Derby Day isn’t Derby Day without one of those from Kyogo!”
The Celtic striker places a shot from distance into the bottom corner, the champions are 2-0 up against Rangers ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/0vid4cchvX
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) September 1, 2024
On such an occasion, only Kyogo could deliver that kind of goal.
He is undeniably the best Celtic striker since Henrik Larsson.
Celtic will aim to extend their lead in the second half.
At half-time, the job is certainly not done, and Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers will hope his team can maintain their momentum after the break.
