Brendan Rodgers claimed Celtic never felt the feared Ibrox pressure after coming behind for a 1-1 draw at fierce rivals Rangers.
Celtic denied Barry Ferguson’s side a third straight Old Firm victory after Adam Idah’s second-half finish cancelled out Cyriel Dessers’ opener on the stroke of half-time.
Rodgers’ side had already wrapped up the Scottish Premiership title after their win over Dundee United last Sunday, with this draw maintaining their 17-point lead over Rangers.
The Celtic boss felt his side coped well with a cagey Old Firm affair, and they could have stolen all three points if Daizen Maeda had not been denied by Liam Kelly deep into stoppage time.
“The performance level was a good one,” Rodgers said.
“Rangers changed their structure, we were playing against a diamond, so once we figured that out, we had lots of moments where we played through that pressure well.
“There weren’t too many chances either side. Second half, we controlled the game.
“When you come to Ibrox, you sometimes have 10-15 minutes where you’re under real pressure, backs to the wall, but I never really felt that. We got the goal, we deserved it.”
A draw in the Glasgow Derby for the champions#RANCEL | #CelticFC pic.twitter.com/XadrlrRpAl
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) May 4, 2025
Rangers’ wait for three straight league wins over Celtic since January 2021 was forced to go on after squandering their first-half lead.
Ferguson also missed the chance to become the first ever Rangers manager to win both of his first two league meetings with Celtic in charge of the club.
He admitted his frustration after the full-time whistle, with a lack of quality in the decisive moments the difference.
“A bit disappointed we didn’t come away with three points,” Ferguson said. “The commitment from my players was what I asked for, really good.
“Scored a good goal, went in at half-time, deserving of the lead. We know Celtic are going to come out [strongly in the] second half, but we weathered the storm really well.
“It was just that bit of quality in the end that we need to be better at.”
