A brace for Kyogo seals the deal in the League Cup final: Rangers 1-2 Celtic

The players warming up ahead of kick off (Image: Anthony Devine)

Both Celtic and Rangers made the short trip to Hampden Park as they battled for the Viaplay League Cup. Celtic came into the game looking for their 21st League Cup trophy. Rangers, on the other hand, were looking for their 28th League Cup trophy, and their first since 2011. It was Ange Postecoglou's men who came out the victors, but to the credit of Michael Beale, it wasn't as straightforward as the Celtic fans would hope.

As the game started, both sides had their fair share of the ball with no proper chances on goal. The match was evenly contested for the opening 20 minutes, and that continued until the 30th minute when a good chance from the ‘Gers forced some defending from the Hoops.

Celtic had a chance at the other end where a shot from Jota called upon 'keeper Allan McGregor to make his first save of the evening.

Another chance at goal came for Celtic around the 36-minute mark when Kyogo Furuhashi struck the ball just wide of the post.

Four minutes later, Furuhashi had another chance to open the scoring. He managed to get a head on the ball after a cross into the box, but he ultimately saw the ball over the crossbar.

As the first half was nearing its end, Furuhashi struck the ball home in the 43rd minute, being on the receiving end of a Greg Taylor cross to tap it into the net.

As the second half started, despite Celtic being the overall better team in the opening minutes of the half, Rangers came out firing on all cylinders with a big chance at goal 49 minutes into the game.

Six minutes later, the Hoops doubled the advantage and it was a brace for Furuhashi to give his team the 2-0 lead.

The Celtic fans’ display before the match (Image: Anthony Devine)

As the game was reaching the 60-minute mark, Beale was ready to call upon his bench, and it was Nicolas Raskin, Todd Cantwell, and Ryan Jack who were ready to come on and play their part.

On the other hand, Postecoglou called on his bench and it was Matt O'Riley and Liel Abada coming on for the Hoops.

Just as the substitutes were ready to come on, the ‘Gers got a well-deserved goal to find themselves in with a chance of getting back into the game. It was striker Alfredo Morelos who struck it home for the blue side of Glasgow, to the delight of the Rangers support as their hope had been restored.

The substitutes made their way onto the park and the Rangers goal gave them a real boost as they got their rhythm back, playing some good attacking football and showing a real threat for Celtic.

The Rangers fans' display before the match (Image: Anthony Devine)

Raskin and Cantwell played some good football to the annoyance of the Rangers fans, who believed the two should have been on the park from the very start.

Around the 74th minute mark, both Beale and Postecoglou called upon the bench once again as Antonio Colak, Hyeon-Gyu Oh, and Tomoki Iwata were the chosen candidates for their sides.

As the football continued, the benches were called upon for the final time as Scott Wright and Sead Haksabanovic came on to see out the game.

Haksabanovic played a good part in helping Celtic see out the game as he had a great chance at goal in the dying moments of the match.

Celtic managed to hold on for the rest of the game and came out victorious with the final scoreline being 2-1 in what was a memorable Old Firm derby match.

Rangers will have to wait another year in their bid to win the cup for a 28th time but Beale can keep his head up as his team showed real character in what was a solid battle between two top-quality sides.

Celtic was ultimately the better team on the day and deservedly finished the match as winners.