Celtic v Rangers – story of the match

The Hoops set up another final with Motherwell.

Celtic’s dream of clinching an unprecedented double treble remains very much alive after they swept Rangers aside with a crushing 4-0 win in the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final.

Rangers tried to sit in and frustrate Brendan Rodgers’ men at Hampden but that simply played into the Hoops’ hands as they grabbed the initiative with first-half goals from Tom Rogic and Callum McGregor.

And with the Light Blues reduced to 10 men after Ross McCrorie was sent off right at the start of the second period, Moussa Dembele and Olivier Ntcham both tucked home penalties to confirm Celtic’s place in the May 19 final against Motherwell.

Tweet of the match

Moment of the match

The game was as good as over the second Rogic slotted the Hoops ahead in the 22nd minute. It was another display of the Australian’s ability to turn on the magic on the big occasion as he sold McCrorie a dummy before twisting the other way to stroke home. But more than that it immediately snuffed out any faint reserves of belief still held within the Rangers ranks, leaving Rodgers’ team to cruise to victory.

Star man – Moussa Dembele

The Frenchman has not quite been the lethal force this term that he was during his debut campaign in Scotland. But he always manages to raise his game against Celtic’s derby rivals and once again he was the man to spearhead victory over Rangers. He had a hand in Rogic’s opener and then lured McCrorie into the last-man tug which got the Rangers youngster dismissed. His cheeky ‘Panenka’ spot-kick was his seventh Old Firm strike in just nine games.

View from the bench

Graeme Murty's Rangers lost to Celtic again — Graeme Murty’s Rangers lost to Celtic again (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Andy Halliday hung out to dry

Andy Halliday was hauled off after just 41 minutes at Hampden Park (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Player ratings

Celtic: Craig Gordon 8; Mikael Lustig 6, Kris Ajer 6, Dedryck Boyata 6, Kieran Tierney 7, Scott Brown 7, Olivier Ntcham 7, James Forrest 7, Tom Rogic 7, Callum McGregor 7, Moussa Dembele 9. Subs: Scott Sinclair (for Rogic, 60) 6, Patrick Roberts (for Forrest, 73) 6, Leigh Griffiths (for Dembele, 79) 4.

Rangers: Wes Foderingham 6, James Tavernier 6, Ross McCrorie 4, Russell Martin 5, Declan John 5, Andy Halliday 4, Daniel Candeias 5, Graham Dorrans 5, Greg Docherty 5, Jamie Murphy 5, Alfredo Morelos 5. Subs: Josh Windass (for Halliday, 41) 4, Bruno Alves (for Candeias, 53) 6, Jason Holt (for Dorrans, 73) 4.

Who’s up next?

Hibernian v Celtic (Ladbrokes Premiership, Saturday, April 21)

Rangers v Hearts (Ladbrokes Premiership, Sunday, April 22)