Rangers Vs. Celtic, 2011 Scottish Premier League: Gers Win 4-2 In Instant Classic

One Old Firm Derby down, two to go. Rangers are top of the Scottish Premier League and have the upper hand in their cross-town rivalry after Sunday afternoon’s encounter, beating Celtic 4-2 at the Ibrox Stadium in an absolutely fantastic match for the neutrals. Celtic went into halftime with a lead, but a brilliant second half performance by Rangers has given them a deserved home win.

Steven Naismith put Rangers on the board early in the first half, but Celtic took the lead with two unanswered goals on bad errors. Gary Hooper scored the equalizer in the 34th minute, kept onside by Carlos Bocanegra’s failure to step up, and that was quickly followed by a Badr El Kaddouri goal on an Allan McGregor howler.

Last season, a couple of the Old Firm derbies were a bit uneventful and much more about physical play and conservative defending than any kind of skill or attacking play. The first match of this season between Celtic and Rangers has been anything but that so far, as Celtic leads 2-1 at halftime at Ibrox Stadium.

Rangers got off to a fantastic start with a goal by Steven Naismith in the 23rd minute, and at that point, it was no more than Rangers’ play deserved. Naismith has been on an absolute tear to start the year, scoring four goals prior to that opener.

As usual, Rangers and Celtic are planted firmly atop of the Scottish Premier League table. Through six rounds of play, both teams have won five games and slipped up once. Rangers are currently top, the difference between the two teams being one draw for Rangers and one loss for Celtic. They should be first and second by some distance at the end of the season, and they should finish fairly close together. So despite the fact that this game is taking place in September, it’s one of the biggest games of the year for the title race in Scotland.

Of course, it would be one of the biggest matches of the year no matter what. If both teams were mid-table with little chance at going down or winning the title, the Old Firm Derby would still be the Old Firm Derby. Even if the teams are no longer the European contenders they were just a short time ago, it’s still one of the biggest matches in world football.