Philippe Clement claimed Rangers were “moral winners” of the Old Firm derby after coming from 2-0 down at half-time to draw 3-3 with Celtic in a roller coaster clash at Ibrox.
Daizen Maeda gave the visitors the lead after just 21 seconds and the Light Blues fell further behind in the 34th minute when midfielder Matt O’Riley coolly converted a penalty.
Skipper James Tavernier scored from the spot in the 55th minute as the Gers rallied before striker Cyriel Dessers had the ball in the Hoops’ net two minutes later only for an earlier infringement to rule out a goal.
Abdallah Sima levelled in the 86th minute but a minute later Adam Idah, also on as a substitute, restored Celtic’s lead. There was still time for more drama when Rabbi Matondo equalised for Clement’s side in added time.
Rangers, with seven fixtures remaining, remain a point behind leaders Celtic with a game in hand against Dundee on Wednesday and a trip to Parkhead after the split.
Boss Clement, who took over at Ibrox last October, said: “It is the worst start you can have in an Old Firm game, to go behind after one minute.
“Also in the way we went behind. That is a big blow in that moment for the team, for the fans.
“Afterwards, we didn’t go down but we were not good enough on the ball.
“Then second half we showed our real face. We showed the real things that I want to see, this never-stopping team that has a lot of resilience, a lot of hunger, desire, to change the result.
“To do the right thing, to create chances not give away chances. Then became, for you guys, a crazy scenario, for the scenario that I wanted.
“Not with the 2-2 and then the 3-2 of course, but we clearly deserved at least a point today with what we have shown.
“I think at the end we are moral winners of this afternoon because a few months ago, for sure, this team could not have reacted after 2-0 in an Old Firm.
“I don’t know if many teams in the past could have done it. It is a hard thing in a very important game to go 2-0 behind to also feel the disappointment of your fans when you go into the dressing room to turn that around. Because of that I am really proud of my boys.
“For me, it is important, we showed what we are about in the second half, so that’s why we are the moral winners in that way, to come back after 0-2, I don’t think it happened too much in Old Firm games.
“Now it is putting focus on Dundee, a big game, and all the focus is on that and not on the ranking or the points, so you will not catch me saying or thinking these things in the next couple of weeks, that is something for maybe the last two or the last game, that depends how many points other teams take.
“This will give a lot of confidence, belief, but it is also important to stay humble and be ready for the Dundee game and do that from the first second of the game and not give belief to the opponents, like we did today.”
Clement was pleased with the way skipper Tavernier reacted to his lapse in concentration which allowed Maeda to score an early opener.
He said: “It’s difficult to pick only Tav out because I would prefer that he didn’t make those mistakes in the first minute.
“But he showed the personality to take the penalty and to take the penalty in that way, with really big conviction, desire to score the goal and to put the perfect penalty away.
“It’s not easy and a lot of players break after making a fault like that at the beginning of the game. They go down the way.
“But he has the capacity to switch on again and to be even more hungry.”
Manchester City 5-1 Wolves: Haaland scores four as rampant Citizens respond to Arsenal win
Erling Haaland's four-goal haul ensured Manchester City continued their Premier League title charge with a 5-1 triumph over Wolves, as Pep Guardiola's team responded to Arsenal's victory earlier on Saturday in style.
Arsenal moved four points clear at the league summit with their 3-0 win over Bournemouth but Haaland eased any City nerves with his dominant first-half hat-trick at Etihad Stadium.
That quickfire treble included two penalties before Haaland added to his tally after the interval – following Hwang Hee-chan's consolation strike – to move to a competition-leading 25 goals this term.
Haaland’s replacement Julian Alvarez added further gloss late on, as City, who have a game in hand on Arsenal, cut the gap to the Gunners to just one point. Wolves remain 11th with just one win in their past eight league games.
City needed just 12 minutes to take the lead. Rayan Ait-Nouri conceded a penalty for an inadvertent collision with Josko Gvardiol, and Haaland made no mistake from the spot after a VAR review confirmed the on-field decision, sending Jose Sa the wrong way and sweeping into the bottom-left corner.
Sa was equal to Haaland shortly after, though, tipping away the striker's header following Bernardo Silva's right-wing centre – but the Wolves goalkeeper was powerless to prevent the Norwegian doubling his tally after 35 minutes, as Haaland climbed high to redirect Rodri’s back-post centre into the bottom-right corner.
And Haaland had his hat-trick when, on the stroke of half-time, he repeated the trick from 12 yards after he had drawn a clumsy challenge from Nelson Semedo, with the VAR having recommended an onfield review of the incident.
Wolves reduced the deficit eight minutes into the second half as Hwang fired into an empty net from Ederson's unconvincing punch, though City restored their three-goal advantage just a minute later.
Haaland latched onto Phil Foden's over-the-top pass before cutting inside and blasting an arrowed left-footed strike into the top-left corner for the finest of his four strikes.
There was time for City to increase their goal difference, too, as substitute Alvarez wrapped up the scoring after Rodri regained possession high before finding the Argentine, who angled a low effort across Sa.
Golden Boot within Haaland’s grasp
For every Arsenal victory, Guardiola's side continue to respond with three points of their own and still boast a game in hand away against Tottenham to move clear of the Gunners.
City are now unbeaten in their last 20 Premier League games (W15 D4), becoming the second side to manage a streak of 20+ undefeated league matches on five separate occasions – after fierce rivals Manchester United (seven).
That is in large part thanks to Haaland, whose four goals came in just 54 minutes here. Only Gabriel Jesus has scored as many times earlier in a Premier League game, finding the net four times in 53 minutes against Watford in April 2022.
He is now five clear of his rivals in the hunt for the Premier League Golden Boot, and surely he has all but wrapped up that award now.
Frustration grows at Wolves
Gary O'Neil has regularly voiced his concerns over the depth of Wolves' squad, with his side suffering from numerous injury issues across a troubled season.
Matheus Cunha and Ait-Nouri – the latter who conceded the first penalty for an accidental collision with Gvardiol – returned to the starting XI from injury, but that did little to mask Wolves' problems.
Injuries have played their part in hampering O'Neil's tenure, though this clash was a stark reminder of their shortcomings – Wolves have now lost eight of their last nine Premier League visits to Man City.
Terzic hopeful of Wembley send-off for Dortmund hero Reus
Borussia Dortmund's Marco Reus will leave the club after 12 years at the end of the season but a Champions League final at Wembley would see his career at the Ruhr valley club come full circle, said coach Edin Terzic said on Saturday.
Reus scored once and set up two more goals in their 5-1 win over Augsburg on Saturday as Dortmund prepare to face Paris Saint-Germain in their return leg in France on Tuesday after their 1-0 first leg win in Germany earlier this week.
The Germans, Champions League winners in 1997, are hoping to make their first final in the competition since 2013 when they lost to Bayern Munich at Wembley.
A return to that stadium for this year's final would be a fitting finale for Reus' Dortmund career, Terzic said.
"Yes, a cycle would close," Terzic said. "It was in his first season at Dortmund that he played at Wembley and it would be perfect to return there," Terzic told a press conference.
"He is a living legend. He has put all other stories in the shadow today.
"What I wish is that the Marco Reus festival lasts for another month and we experience a few more games together," Terzic said.
The 34-year-old, who joined in 2012 and also spent a decade at the Ruhr Valley club as a youth player, has scored 169 goals in 425 matches for Dortmund while setting up another 130.
Reus won two German Cups but did not collect any other major titles, agonisingly missing out on his first ever Bundesliga trophy last season on the final matchday.
Dortmund are in fifth place in the Bundesliga with two games remaining. They were at risk of missing out on Champions League football next season before their win over PSG sealed a fifth spot for Germany in next season's competition.
Bayern Munich defender Guerreiro doubtful for Real Madrid match - Tuchel
Bayern Munich defender Raphael Guerreiro is doubtful for next week's Champions League semi-final return leg at Real Madrid after he picked up an injury in their 3-1 loss to Stuttgart on Saturday, head coach Thomas Tuchel has said.
Bayern, who also had Eric Dier taken off at half-time with a head injury, face Real in Spain on Wednesday after their 2-2 draw in Munich earlier this week.
Portugal international Guerreiro was taken off in the 17th minute after he hurt his ankle in an attempt to block a shot.
"Raphael Guerreiro needed crutches to walk. It is very, very bitter for us. He was supposed to get some playing time today to be ready for Wednesday. Instead, now we have to see what happens," Tuchel told reporters.
"Eric Dier had to get stitches to the head wound that then opened up again so we at some point said it was enough. We did not want to risk it."
Bayern have several injury concerns, with defender Matthijs De Ligt still doing individual training and fellow defender Dayot Upamecano, who came on for Dier, working back to full fitness after recovering from injury.
"If there ever was a day when we needed to put this behind us quickly then it is today, and we see what we need for Wednesday," Tuchel said.
"The medical meetings at the moment are more maths than medical. Who is on 60 per cent, who on 30 per cent, who can't play at all," said the coach, who will leave at the end of the season following a disappointing domestic run.
Bayern are second in the league, two points ahead of Stuttgart in third and with two games left to play. The title has already been wrapped up by leaders Bayer Leverkusen.
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