Rangers missed a gilt-edged opportunity to cut Celtic’s lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership down to six points after Kyogo Furuhashi hammered home a late equaliser to secure a 2-2 draw in the Old Firm derby at Ibrox on Monday.
Celtic got off to a flying start after Japanese forward Daizen Maeda pounced on an errant pass by Alfredo Morelos and slotted his shot past Allan McGregor in the fifth minute.
Rangers created a few decent chances in the first half, but their pressure would only tell after the break, as the home side turned the game around with two quickfire goals.
Ryan Kent levelled in the 47th minute with a curling effort into the far corner of the net, past the outstretched arms of Joe Hart.
Fashion Sakala was then brought down in the Celtic penalty area minutes later, with Rangers captain James Tavernier emphatically converting the subsequent spot-kick to put Rangers ahead in the 53rd minute.
However, Rangers’ were denied victory over their fierce rivals when Japan’s Furuhashi fired the ball through a mass of defenders in the 88th minute to salvage a point for the champions.
“A good point considering the performance levels after the first 25 minutes,” Celtic captain Callum McGregor told Sky Sports.
“We started really well, got the goal and you could see the atmosphere in the place, we were dominating the game. But then we let them back into the game. When you do that against a decent team, you are giving them a chance.
“We weren’t at our best but we will take it.”
Celtic are top of the standings with 55 points from 20 games, while second-placed Rangers remain nine points behind them on 46.
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