Kyogo Furuhashi scored an 88th-minute equaliser to rescue a 2-2 draw for Celtic in Monday's Old Firm derby, preserving the Hoops' nine-point lead in the Scottish Premiership.

Rangers were on course for a deserved victory that would have breathed life into the title race, but the away side nabbed a crucial leveller right near the end.

Daizen Maeda had initially given Celtic an early lead, but Rangers soon established dominance and were good value for their lead following a quickfire double from Ryan Kent and James Tavernier early in the second half.

But when Rangers appeared to be cruising to a potentially vital victory, Kyogo emphatically finished from close range to stun the home crowd and salvage a point.

Had it not been for a defensive error, Rangers would not have trailed in the first place.

Alfredo Morelos' blind pass into the middle was seized upon by Maeda, who rode Tavernier's feeble challenge and skipped past Connor Goldson before slotting home.

Morelos then forced a Joe Hart error that led to Kent hitting the post from the edge of the box, seemingly jolting Rangers into life.

They finished the half with a hat-trick of Morelos chances, and their positivity paid off early in the second period as Kent curled a fine finish into the top-right corner.

Fashion Sakala, who also played a role for the equaliser, then lured Carl Starfelt into a clumsy foul in the box, and Tavernier converted the spot-kick.

It was not enough to clinch victory, though.

The ball fell kindly for Furuhashi after a scrappy passage late on, and he smashed home the goal many will feel ends the Gers' title hopes.  

Kyogo Furuhashi scored an 88th-minute equaliser to rescue a 2-2 draw for Celtic in Monday's Old Firm derby, preserving the Hoops' nine-point lead in the Scottish Premiership.

Rangers were on course for a deserved victory that would have breathed life into the title race, but the away side nabbed a crucial leveller right near the end.

Daizen Maeda had initially given Celtic an early lead, but Rangers soon established dominance and were good value for their lead following a quickfire double from Ryan Kent and James Tavernier early in the second half.

But when Rangers appeared to be cruising to a potentially vital victory, Kyogo emphatically finished from close range to stun the home crowd and salvage a point.

Michael Beale has been appointed as the new manager of Rangers on a three and a half year deal.

Beale replaces Giovanni van Bronckhorst in the role after the Dutch coach was sacked by the Scottish club last week.

Formerly part of Steven Gerrard's backroom staff during the Liverpool legend's time in charge at Ibrox in which they ended the club's 10-year wait for a Scottish Premiership title in 2021, Beale has returned to take on the main job, leaving his post in charge at English Championship side QPR.

The 42-year-old has previously coached at Chelsea and Liverpool's academies, as well as working in Brazil with Sao Paolo, before taking on first-team coaching roles under Gerrard at both Rangers and Aston Villa.

Beale left Villa Park to take on his first managerial role at QPR at the start of this season, where he won nine of his 21 league games in charge (D4, L8), leaving them in seventh place in the Championship.

He turned down an approach from Premier League side Wolves in October, but has accepted the challenge of taking on the reins at Rangers, who currently sit nine points behind Celtic in the league.

"It is fantastic to be back and to see everybody this morning," he said after being announced on Monday. "There are some new faces but some people that I know really well so it is great to see everyone.

"I am hugely proud, it is a wonderful, wonderful football club, it is an institution. For everyone that works here it is a huge privilege, but to be the manager of this football club, that is extremely special. Some wonderful people have sat in this chair prior to me, and I am hugely proud to be the person sat here now."

Van Bronckhorst was dismissed after a disappointing start to the campaign that included being thrashed 4-0 by Celtic in September, as well as producing the worst Champions League group-stage finish in history, losing all six games with a goal difference of -20.

Rangers have sacked manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst after falling off the pace in the Scottish Premiership title race.

Van Bronckhorst joined Rangers last November following Steven Gerrard's move to Aston Villa, leading them to a Scottish Cup triumph and a Europa League final - where they were beaten by Eintracht Frankfurt - last term.

However, Van Bronckhorst was unable to inspire consistency in the Scottish Premiership, with Rangers finishing last season four points behind Celtic and entering the World Cup break nine adrift of their Old Firm rivals.

Rangers also endured a chastening Champions League campaign this term, becoming the first Scottish team to lose all six of their group-stage games in the competition.

Van Bronckhorst's team conceded 22 goals across those matches, which included a 7-1 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool and a 4-0 defeat at Ajax.

In a statement on Rangers' website on Monday, chairman Douglas Park said: "I want to thank Gio for the hard work he has put in over the last 12 months and, especially the achievements of taking the club to the Europa League final and winning the Scottish Cup last season.

"Unfortunately, recent results have not met neither our nor Gio’s expectations, and we have taken this difficult decision today. Everyone at Rangers wishes Gio every success in the future."

With the Scottish Premiership campaign on hold for the World Cup in Qatar, Rangers have over three weeks to find a replacement before they host Hibernian on December 15.

Celtic head coach Ange Postecoglou believes "a lot of missed chances" were to blame for his side's ill-fated Champions League season. 

After losing 2-0 to RB Leipzig at home on Tuesday, the reigning Scottish Champions will not be able to progress beyond the group stage. 

Even their hopes of dropping into the Europa League look slim, needing four points from their games against Shakhtar Donetsk and Real Madrid, as well as favours from elsewhere.

Reflecting on a disappointing display from his side, Postecoglou said: "I thought we showed all the effort and endeavour to try to win a game of football.

"But as we have found at this level, if you don’t take your chances it’s very hard to convert all of that into a result.

"I’m trying to tell us to play in a certain way to be successful, but we know at this level that if you don't take your opportunities then it's going to hurt you at some stage.

"It's been the story of our campaign so far – a lot of missed chances."

Celtic's loss equalled the longest run of home defeats by a team in the competition, previously set by Monaco between May 2017 and December 2018 with seven.

But Postecoglou hopes the experience, while disappointing, will benefit his side in the long term.

"We have just got to keep going. Irrespective of whether we continue or not, we have two more Champions League games that we want to keep using as a platform to improve as a football team and improve our players," he said. 

"The more they have exposure at this level, I think the better equipped we will be at this level."

Postecoglou and his side will look to get something from their game against Shakhtar on October 25, which follows domestic fixtures with Hibernian, Motherwell and Hearts.

Celtic have been fined €15,000 (£13,168) by UEFA over an anti-monarchy banner displayed in last month's Champions League game against Shakhtar Donetsk following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

A number of banners referencing the Queen's passing could be seen in the Celtic end at Polish Army Stadium in Warsaw, where the sides played out a 1-1 draw on September 14.

UEFA opened disciplinary proceedings against the Scottish champions the following day.

The European football governing body announced on Tuesday that Celtic must pay a fine for the use of "a provocative banner" containing a "message not fit for a sports event".

It had already been announced Celtic's rivals Rangers would not face any punishment for defying UEFA's orders by playing the national anthem as part of a tribute to the Queen before their 3-0 loss to Napoli.

Ange Postecoglou criticised Celtic's "work ethic" as the Scottish Premiership champions suffered a first league defeat in 364 days at St Mirren on Sunday.

Mark O'Hara headed the Paisley side ahead in the first half, before Jonah Ayunga added a second after the break to inflict a first defeat on Celtic since September 19 last year.

The loss was just Celtic's second in their past 27 visits to St Mirren, and Postecoglou accepted his side were well off their usual standards. 

"We just weren't aggressive both in action and in thought," he said. "We kind of tried to ease our way into a game of football and you just can't do that. You've got to be at it from the start and we weren't. 

"You don't put it down to one of those days; it's a disappointing day. We pride ourselves on having certain standards and we didn't reach those. And football will always teach you that lesson.

"What has got us to this point over the past 15 or 16 months is having a certain work ethic and certain levels of performance and belief. We didn't reach any of those. We've got to take the hits when they come and we've just got to get back up and go again.

"We've done that before as a team over the past 15 or 16 months. It's a sore one, it's one that we've got to use as the fuel we need next to get going again.

"We were nowhere near the levels we want to be. Credit to St Mirren. They worked really hard and were really committed to their game plan. They made it hard for us, but we never hit the levels we need to play our football. It's about dusting ourselves off and getting going again."

Celtic have a two-point lead over bitter rivals Rangers at the Scottish Premiership summit ahead of the international break.

UEFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against Celtic over banners on display during their Champions League meeting with Shakhtar Donetsk.

A number of banners referencing the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II could be seen in the Celtic end at Polish Army Stadium in Warsaw, where the sides played out a 1-1 draw on Wednesday.

Celtic now face potential sanctions, with UEFA confirming to Stats Perform on Thursday that disciplinary proceedings are under way.

However, Celtic's rivals Rangers will not face any punishment for defying UEFA's orders by playing the national anthem in tribute to the Queen before their 3-0 loss to Napoli.

A spokesman for the European football governing body said: "The incident is not the subject of any UEFA disciplinary proceedings."

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou declared Celtic will be "hard to stop" if they maintain their current form after watching the Bhoys tear Rangers apart in a 4-0 Old Firm derby success.

A Liel Abada brace, as well as goals from Jota and David Turnbull, moved the scintillating Scottish Premiership champions five points clear of their historic rivals in the early-season table on Saturday.

Celtic are now unbeaten in 38 league games, and have scored 25 goals in their opening six matches of the 2022-23 campaign.

Speaking to the BBC after the win, Postecoglou said: "We have been in excellent form and I'm really proud of the players.

"It was a big game today, we knew that, a big occasion against a really good team, and I thought the boys were outstanding from start to finish."

Asked about the importance of the Hoops' commanding lead over Rangers in the standings, the Australian said: "What's more important to me is how we're playing, every week we've got a little bit better, and that's a good indicator. 

"That's a better indicator. You can win games in many ways and grind things out, but our form's been outstanding.

"If we can keep going like that, we're going to be hard to stop."

Postecoglou's counterpart Giovanni van Bronckhorst, meanwhile, was left deflated by a series of defensive errors as he pledged the Gers will not make the same mistakes in the future.

"You know the start you have is very important in how the game will develop," he said. "We knew the threat they had with quick throw-ins and free-kicks.

"We were exposed twice, which gave two goals away. For me, that's very disappointing. We knew they were going to [restart quickly] and still we weren't prepared enough.

"Everyone needs to reflect in what they did well and what they did wrong, same for me.

"There are still a lot of games to be played, plus three games against Celtic.

"We have to move on, get stronger and make sure the moments we had here never happen again, no matter who we play."

Liel Abada's first-half double laid the bedrock for a rousing Celtic victory, as they claimed the Old Firm bragging rights with a 4-0 thrashing of Rangers.

Abada was in superb form as he helped fire the hosts to a sixth successive victory of the Scottish Premiership season, with Jota and David Turnbull also on the scoresheet at Celtic Park.

The win moved Ange Postecoglou's side five points clear at the top ahead of their Champions League meeting with Real Madrid next week.

For Giovanni van Bronckhorst's visitors however, it laid bare the gulf in quality, and checks the Gers' momentum before their midweek trip to Ajax.

Celtic had to recover from an early blow when Kyogo Furuhashi, the league's top scorer, was forced off clutching his shoulder following a collision with John Lundstram.

Yet those early fears turned to joy when Celtic seized the first chance of the game – Abada turning Matt O'Riley's cross in off Jon McLaughlin's palm with a lunging volley.

O'Riley provided again for the Bhoys to double the lead, with a superb ball for Jota, who turned home sharply, and Celtic's fans were in dreamland when Abada doubled his tally with a first-touch finish from six yards out.

With a three-goal deficit to overturn after the break, Rangers had to make some kind of change, with Scott Wright thrown on for Glen Kamara, but that gamble failed to stem the Celtic onslaught.

Celtic seldom let their foot off the pedal, and when McLaughlin played a short goal-kick straight to Turnbull, an easy finish sealed the deal for the hosts in emphatic, dominant fashion.

What does it mean? Celtic cement frontrunner status

Twenty-five goals in the space of six league games is not just an impressive haul, it is positively confirmatory for Celtic's title hopes, even at this early stage.

Even before their free-scoring performance in the derby, they had not netted as many goals as they had by this stage of any previous SPL season. They look impossible to stop.

Bhoys buck bad starts

The first league Old Firm derby of a season has been won by Rangers in both of the last two campaigns. Before that, Celtic had won four in a row – and now they have shaken off the slow form that has cost them the past two years.

Van Bronckhorst makes unwanted history

Rangers are yet to win an Old Firm league derby under the Dutchman. It makes him the fourth such man to fail to register a win in his first four encounters, after William Wilton in 1892, William Waddell in 1971 and Graeme Murty in 2018.

What's next?

Both teams enter the Champions League group stages against two European heavyweights, with Celtic welcoming Madrid and Rangers travelling to Ajax.

Celtic made history as they thrashed struggling Dundee United 9-0 in the Scottish Premiership.

Kyogo Furuhashi and Liel Abada both helped themselves to hat-tricks in what was Celtic's largest competitive win on the road in their history.

United had taken just one point from their first four matches, though Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou had warned his team against complacency before kick-off.

"We always go in and expect that they'll be at their best, but what we know is if we're at our best, we're difficult to stop, and that's the things we can control and that's what we’ll be trying to do," he told Sky Sports.

It proved to be the case as the Hoops swept aside their opponents to move back above Rangers at the summit of the league, maintaining their 100 per cent start to the season in the process.

All of Kyogo's goals came in the first half and Celtic went into the interval 4-0 up thanks to Jota.

Abada's trio of strikes came between the 50th and 77th minutes – Josip Juranovic got on the scoresheet in that time, too – with Carl Starfelt applying the finishing touch late on.

"The boys were great, disciplined and focused," Postecoglou said in his post-match interview with Sky Sports.

"It was important we set our stall early and really put them under pressure. In the end, we kind of wore them down, our goals were really good."

Kyogo also provided an assist to go with his hat-trick, and Postecoglou said of the forward: "He's great, he's been great all along, he's such an important part of what we do.

"It's not just his goals, it's the way he harasses the opponents, it's his overall work rate. All our strikers work really hard, but they get the rewards."

Rangers captain James Tavernier has reaffirmed his commitment to the Scottish Premiership giants by signing a new long-term deal.

The 30-year-old is into his eighth season at Ibrox and has been a regular in each of those, during which time he has helped Rangers win four trophies.

Tavernier, the last remaining player from Rangers' time in the lower divisions of Scottish football, was only under contract until the end of next season.

However, Rangers announced on Wednesday that the right-back has agreed fresh terms on a deal that will take him to a decade in Glasgow.

"I just want to spend more years here and have that security," Tavernier, who has made 353 appearances for Rangers, told the club's official website.

"It is such a great place to play football and I can't wait to see what the coming years have to bring.

"I am settled here, my family are settled here, so it was a no-brainer to get the contact extension over the line."

Tavernier skippered Rangers to the Scottish Premiership title two seasons ago and led the team in last season's Europa League final defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt.

He previously represented the likes of Newcastle United, Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United, Wigan Athletic and Bristol City.

Ajax have signed Calvin Bassey from Rangers for a fee of €23million (£19.6m) that could rise to €26.5m (£22.6m) with add-ons.

The 22-year-old defender is likely to be the replacement for Lisandro Martinez, who is close to sealing a move to Manchester United to be reunited with former boss Erik ten Hag.

Bassey has signed a five-year-deal at the Johan Cruyff Arena, and the Eredivisie champions confirmed he has already joined his new team-mates in Austria at their pre-season training camp.

Though born in Italy, Bassey is a Nigeria international, and became a regular at Rangers last season as he starred in their run to the Europa League final, dispatching the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Braga and RB Leipzig along the way.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst's men ultimately lost in Seville to Eintracht Frankfurt on penalties, but Bassey impressed on the night and had been subject of interest from several clubs across Europe during the transfer window.

He made 65 appearances in all for Rangers after signing from Leicester City in 2020, winning the Scottish Premiership in 2020-21 and the Scottish Cup last season.

Rangers moved to replace Bassey on Tuesday when they signed centre-back Ben Davies from Liverpool for a fee of £3m, with a further £1m in add-ons.

Liverpool centre-back Ben Davies has joined Rangers for a reported £4million fee, including add-ons.

Davies was brought in from amid an injury crisis in January 2021, when Liverpool were missing Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip and Fabinho, who himself is more at home in defensive midfield.

After failing to make a Premier League appearance for Jurgen Klopp's side, Davies spent the 2021-22 season on loan at Championship side Sheffield United, playing 22 league games.

The 26-year-old ended an 18-month spell at Anfield on Tuesday, signing for Europa League finalists Rangers on a four-year deal.

"Rangers is a fantastic club, a big club. Ben belongs on a big stage for sure. European football as well," Klopp told Liverpool's website after the move was completed.

"This presents a proper opportunity to demonstrate his quality and composure. As a person he's as good a guy as you could hope to meet.

"It's a smart piece of recruitment from Giovanni van Bronckhorst, to be honest. Perfect for all parties. He has himself an accomplished defender, who is entering his peak years and whose character is top drawer."

Davies is expected to be the replacement in defence for Calvin Bassey, who is reportedly being targeted by Eredivisie champions Ajax and Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion.

Former Rangers and Scotland goalkeeper Andy Goram has passed away aged 58 after a short battle with cancer.

The ex-Gers shot stopper revealed in May that he had been given a terminal diagnosis of stage four oesophageal cancer and had less than six months to live.

"The thoughts of the directors, management, players and staff are today with Andy's family, and would ask that their privacy is respected at this sad time," Rangers said in a statement on Saturday.

Goram is fondly remembered for his seven-year spell at Ibrox between 1991 and 1998, when he was a five-time league champion, as well as winning three Scottish Cups and two Scottish League Cups.

He turned in a string of impressive performances in the first iteration of the Champions League, helping Rangers to a second-place group finish, a point off qualifying for the final.

Goram became something of a journeyman player following the end of his tenure in Glasgow, and became a Premier League winner in 2001 after a short loan spell with Manchester United.

At international level, he won 43 caps and was named in the squads for the Mexico 1986 and Italia 1990 World Cups, plus Euro 1992 and Euro 1996, when he was first-choice goalkeeper.

Goram was a member of the Scottish Football Hall of Fame, and was also named both the Scottish PFA and Football Writers’ Player of the Year in 1992-93 for his efforts in Rangers' treble-winning campaign.