Second Old Firm in two weeks makes Van Bronckhorst lose title hope


Sunday, May 1, 2022 at 3:12 PM• Tom Rofekamp

Celtic and Rangers shared the points on Sunday afternoon. In a blood-curdling Old Firml the team of Giovanni van Bronckhorst made up for a 1-0 deficit and then emphatically looked for the victory. Although this was in the air until the final whistle, Van Bronckhorst had to be content with a point: 1-1. As a result, the difference between leader Celtic and number two Rangers in the Scottish Premiership remains six points with three rounds to go. The title thus becomes an almost impossible task for Van Bronckhorst.

On April 17, Van Bronckhorst won his first Old Firm as manager, by treating Celtic to a 1–2 loss in the Scottish Cup semi-final. Two weeks later, such a scenario did not seem to be in the air at first. After twenty minutes, home playing Celtic took the lead. Daizen Maeda passed his man on the left and got the ball to Jota, who had come in fine for his man. The Portuguese wing attacker only had to give the last push: 1-0.

It was a deserved hit there the Hoops put down a much better first half. Kyogo Furuhashi thought he would double the margin five minutes before tea, but saw his goal disallowed for offside. Even after the break, Van Bronckhorst’s team needed time to recover. The liberating goal came half way through. Rangers combined beautifully over the enemy half and the ball ended up at Fashion Sakala. With a dry bang in the short corner he outsmarted Joe Hart: 1-1.

Rangers started to believe and put Celtic with their backs against the wall. The Gers got another gigantic opportunity to keep the title fight alive, but Hart had a phenomenal reflex in the house. To make matters worse for Van Bronckhorst and co. Sakala also hit the post in the final phase. With three rounds to go, the lead of Celtic and Rangers remains six points. In that context, Van Bronckhorst’s team will focus all its pillars on winning the Europa League, where it will have to make up for a 1-0 defeat at RB Leipzig in the semi-finals.

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