Watch Rangers Vs Celtic highlights as Rangers claimed their first Old Firm victory under Philippe Clement at the seventh attempt.
The hosts closed the gap at the top of the Scottish Premiership to 11 points with an emphatic win.
Goals from Ianis Hagi, Robin Propper and Danilo saw Rangers to a 3-0 victory at Ibrox as they dominated proceedings.
The vocal home support was treated to a rare derby day victory – Brendan Rogers’ Celtic had lost just one of their past 20 Old Firm matches.
It was a much-needed result for Rangers, who had lost ground in the title race. Defeat at St. Mirren and a draw with Motherwell in recent weeks had seen the gap to Celtic grow even further.
And with skipper James Tavernier sidelined along with keeper Jack Butland and defender John Souttar, things looked bleak heading into this one.
But with their backs to the walls, Rangers stood up to be counted. Clement’s side took immediate control, and were rewarded after just seven minutes.
Hagi drilled his 25-yard strike into the bottom corner to open the scoring, sending the home support wild.
Celtic could not get a foothold in the game, but despite coming under huge pressure, held firm for almost an hour before conceding a second.
Vaclav Cerny’s deflected effort rattled the crossbar, before Liam Kelly made a fine save to deny Reo Hatate for Celtic’s first shot on target.
But any sign of a Celtic revival was short-lived. Cerny hit the woodwork again and then forced a save from Kasper Schmeichel, but another goal felt inevitable.
It came in the 66th minute as Propper blasted in a second from a half-cleared corner.
Danilo then finished the matter after Jefte’s blocked shot dropped kindly to him.
Rangers were good value for their win, but Celtic will need to quickly learn from the defeat.
Watch: Rangers Vs Celtic Highlights
The win brings Rangers to within 11 points of their rivals at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
Celtic had not lost in any competition since their 7-1 humbling at Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on 1 October.
A first defeat in 18 games shows the consistency of Brendan Rogers’ side. While the result is good for Rangers, they are still miles behind in the title race.
Philipe Clement’s men must still put together a near-perfect second half of the season.
Even that may not be enough to catch Celtic, though.
