Brendan Rodgers hailed a classic Old Firm Premier Sports Cup final at Hampden Park – but was glad his Celtic side emerged victors in a 5-4 penalty shoot-out.
The 120 minutes that preceded the spot-kick drama began with Rangers taking the lead through Nedim Bajrami before the break.
Goals from Greg Taylor and Daizen Maeda early in the second half had the Hoops ahead but a 75th minute equaliser by Mohamed Diomande drew the Gers level.
📰 Daizen is spot-on at Hampden as Celtic win League Cup
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Nicolas Kuhn restored Celtic’s lead in the 87th minute but Gers substitute Danilo equalised a minute later to make it 3-3 and take the game to extra-time and when penalties arrived, Maeda scored the decisive one after Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel had saved substitute Ridvan Yilmaz’s effort.
Rodgers, with only one defeat in 20 Old Firm games in his two spells as Celtic boss, said: “I know the magnitude of this game. Celtic and Rangers worldwide, for both sets of supporters, and it means so much to people’s lives.
“I think it’s maybe, what, my 20th game? But I always treat it like the first and prepare that way.
“But as I said, it’s all about coming out on the other side. And the guys showed a big heart to come back from being behind in the game and then to obviously show that composure in the penalties.
“And the most important thing is being at the podium at the end and they achieved that.
“A great, great game to be involved in and obviously it’s one of those ones where you, like what you expect in a final, you never get it all your own way.
“Rangers played well in spells, we had moments and spells in the game as well.
“Ultimately, it’s about coming out on top and we were able to do that.
“It was a great final, a Celtic versus Rangers game that finishes 3-3 after extra time and goes to penalties.
“People will get the money’s worth watching it, but ultimately, you want to be on the right side of it. And thankfully, we were.”
Philippe Clement was adamant that Rangers should have been awarded a penalty at the start of extra-time when Vaclav Cerny was fouled at the edge of the Hoops box by Celtic substitute Liam Scales.
Referee John Beaton awarded a free-kick which came to nothing but former referee Bobby Madden said on his Instagram account that he was “amazed” that video ref Alan Muir did get involved, as still images showed Cerny’s foot was on the 18-yard box as he was still being grabbed by Scales.
Gers boss Clement said: “Football can be great and amazing fun. It can be very cruel. This was a really cruel one.
“My team deserved more today, creating more chances than the opponent, coming back in a good way, and then losing with penalties at the end – it is a casino game at that moment.
“But also, I don’t know if you saw the images back, but my phone is overloaded with the penalty situation, I have had hundreds of messages now about that. So that’s also a really decisive moment for me.
“The referee cannot see that moment but he didn’t get the communication from the VAR to come and watch the screen.
“That’s for me a really weird situation, that at least there’s no look about that kind of situation in this kind of game.
“I’m focused on my team, so those are things I cannot control. I know that all of you (media) like to dig in deep into things, so maybe it’s also a very important moment to dig into that.
“About why there’s no communication in that moment, about a big decision like that, because it’s clear for everybody, it’s a game-decisive decision.”
In the penalty shoot-out Schmeichel was beaten by James Tavernier, Ianis Hagi and Danilo before he saved Yilmaz’s penalty, with Gers keeper Jack Butland scoring, while Adam Idah, skipper Callum McGregor, Arne Engels, and Reo Hatate scored before Maeda clinched the victory.
Clement gave full backing to Yilmaz, saying: “I spoke already with him, there are a lot of big names in football who are big stars in world football, who missed penalties or even didn’t put the ball on target, so he took his responsibility.
“We’ve been practising the penalties all season, he did really well in the training. So it’s part of football, and I’m proud of guys who take responsibility in those moments.”
