Celtic secured their place in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup as a game devoid of quality was decided by penalty kicks after a 0-0 stalemate at Ibrox on Sunday afternoon.
In a game that offered little in the way of opportunities for either side, it was Celtic thought they had taken the lead just before the break when Daizen Maeda nodded home from Liam Scales flick on. However, the 7,000-strong away end had their celebrations cut short when it was ruled out for offside.
The home side then thought they’d broken the deadlock in extra time when Emmanuel Fernandez nodded home from a corner, only for referee Don Robertson to correctly rule it out for handball.
The sides could not be separated in extra-time, leaving Martin O’Neill’s side to take the honours in a shootout, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Auston Trusty, Reo Hatate, and Tomas Cvancara all scoring from the spot, while James Tavernier and Djeidi Gassama missed for Rangers.
Celtic will have to wait until this evening to discover who they will face in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup, with the draw set to take place later this evening live on BBC Scotland following the conclusion of St Mirren vs Partick Thistle.
Here’s how The Scotsman rated the performance of each player as Celtic beat Rangers on penalties at Ibrox.
21. Youssef Chermiti (Rangers) - 6
Made his presence felt, but was kept under wraps by Trusty who matched his physicality and frustrated him. He should have scored when he connected well to Tavernier's cross in extra-time, though. | SNS Group Photo: SNS Group
22. Daizen Maeda (Celtic) - 5
Offered plenty of running, and thought he had scored the opener at the far post until VAR ruled it offside. Needs to offer more to the cause, though. | SNS Group Photo: SNS Group
23. Rangers subs:
Tochi Chukwuani (on at half-time for Diomande and kept things tidy) - 6. Djeidi Gassama (injected some creativity and speed to a lethargic Rangers attack) - 6. Nedim Bajrami (late sub) - N/A. James Tavernier (introduced in extra-time) - N/A. John Souttar (late sub in extra-time) - N/A. Jayden Meghoma (made a good tackle Bernardo deep in extra-time) - N/A. | SNS Group Photo: SNS Group
24. Celtic subs:
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (little impact after being brought on for final half-an-hour) - 5. Tomas Cvancara (Barely touched the ball) - 5. Dane Murray (made some big blocks later in the game) - 7. Joel Mvuka (late sub) - N/A. James Forrest (late sub) - N/A. Paulo Bernardo (came on in extra-time) - N/A. | SNS Group Photo: SNS Group