Highlights as Celtic move 14 points clear of stuttering Rangers | OneFootball

Celtic rounded off 2024 with a resounding win over St Johnstone. Brendan Rodgers’ side extended their lead at the top of the table to 14 points after Rangers dropped more points today. The Scottish Champions completed the calendar year without losing at home, losing just two games in the entire year.

As expected, Celtic had a lot of the ball and were made to work against the defensively robust Saints. The bottom SPFL side were always going to difficult to break down but Celtic carved a number of chances in the first half before Nicolas Kühn opened the scoring. The German took a smart pass from Hatate before darting inside and netting.

The second half brought more dominance from the Hoops but they were able to convert their chances more clinically. Kyogo followed in a Paulo Bernardo rebound with a close range header before turning in from a whipped Arne Engels cross.

Substitute Daizen Maeda completed the scoring after Bernardo picked out a brilliant pass. The game finished 4-0 but Celtic could have gone up the gears and will likely look to do this when they make the short trip to Ibrox..

Meanwhile over at Fir Park, Stuart Kettlewell’s Motherwell hosted Rangers. The hosts scored twice in the first half to leave Philippe Clement on the brink at the break but two goals from Hamza Igamane rescued the Ibrox side to a point. Motherwell will feel quite hard done by especially given that they were denied a goal when Jack Butland punched the ball into his net only for officials to come to Butland’s rescue.

Both sides meet on January 2nd as Brendan has the opportunity to go 17 points clear over Rangers and potentially compound Clement to the managerial job centre.