Celtic vs Rangers. Scottish Cup Semi-Final.
Hampden ParkAttendance49,729.
Monday 16 April 2018 07:10, UK
Celtic eased into the final of the Scottish Cup after a dominant 4-0 win over a dismal 10-man Rangers at Hampden Park on Sunday.
Tom Rogic and Callum McGregor scored in the first half as Celtic bossed proceedings against their Old Firm rivals.
Any hopes Rangers had of getting back into the game were quickly snuffed out after half-time as Ross McCrorie was sent off for bringing down Moussa Dembele in the box.
Dembele dinked the resulting penalty down the middle and Olivier Ntcham scored another penalty in the 78th minute as Celtic set up a meeting with Motherwell in the final on May 19.
Victory moves Celtic a step closer to a historic double-treble and stretches their unbeaten run to 10 matches against Rangers, who were unable to repeat the performance that saw them lose 3-2 in the most recent Old Firm clash in March.
Celtic, who could win the Scottish Premiership title next weekend, dominated from the off and went close to an early opener as Dembele volleyed against the post from inside the box.
Rangers struggled to get out of their own half and fell behind in the 22nd minute as Rogic scored for the third successive Old Firm clash, finishing into the bottom corner from 12 yards out.
Rogic and Olivier Ntcham went close to adding to the advantage before a poor attempted clearance from Russell Martin teed up McGregor to make it 2-0 in the 38th minute.
Rangers' afternoon went from bad to worse after half-time as McCrorie was sent off for fouling Dembele as he broke away in the box.
Dembele coolly chipped the penalty down the middle to put Celtic out of sight.
Rangers did threaten to pull a goal back as Craig Gordon make two fantastic saves to keep out headers from Alfredo Morelos and Bruno Alves.
Having missed a superb late chance to claim a draw in the Old Firm clash in March, Morelos then spurned another excellent opening when he failed to finish after Mikael Lustig sliced a clearance against his own bar.
That seemed to take the wind out of Rangers and they barely touched the ball in the final 25 minutes as Celtic regained control of the game.
Ntcham added to the scoreline as he finished from the spot after Patrick Roberts was fouled by Jason Holt.
Dembele enjoyed a fruitful afternoon.
After playing a part in the opening goal, he helped put Celtic in the clear as he was brought down by McCrorie and then coolly dispatched the penalty.
He caused McCrorie and Martin problems throughout and could have had another goal if he hadn't unselfishly allowed Ntcham to take Celtic's second penalty.
Celtic could seal the Scottish Premiership title when they travel to Hibernian next Saturday. Rangers, meanwhile, host Hearts on Sunday, April 22, live on Sky Sports. The next Old Firm clash is live on Sky Sports on Sunday, April 29.
