 Hampden Park is the venue for the match | |||||||
| Event | 2024–25 Scottish League Cup | ||||||
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| Afterextra time Celtic won 5–4 onpenalties | |||||||
| Date | 15 December 2024 (2024-12-15)[1] | ||||||
| Venue | Hampden Park,Glasgow | ||||||
| Referee | John Beaton | ||||||
| Attendance | 49,420 | ||||||
2025 → | |||||||
The2024 Scottish League Cup final was anassociation football match took place atHampden Park,Glasgow on 15 December 2024. It was the culmination of the2024–25 Scottish League Cup, the 79th season of theScottish League Cup (known as thePremier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons), a competition for the 42 teams in theScottish Professional Football League (SPFL). It was played betweenOld Firm rivalsCeltic (21-time winners, including in seven of the previous ten editions) andRangers (title holders and record 28-time winners). It was the 17th Scottish League Cup final between the sides and the 443rd meeting overall in major competitions.
After the match finished in a 3–3 draw at the end of normal time and the same scoreline afterextra time, Celtic won 5–4 in apenalty shootout to claim the trophy.[2][3]
As both clubs participated in European competitions, they both received a bye through thegroup stage.
| Round | Opposition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Second round | Hibernian | 3–1 (h) |
| Quarter-final | Falkirk | 5–2 (h) |
| Semi-final | Aberdeen[4] | 6–0 (n) |
| Round | Opposition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Second round | St Johnstone[5] | 2–0 (h)[a] |
| Quarter-final | Dundee | 3–0 (h) |
| Semi-final | Motherwell[6] | 2–1 (n) |
This was the second final between the clubs in the calendar year, after the2024 Scottish Cup final in May which brought the previous domestic season to a close.
Celtic went into the final as favourites owing to their position of dominance in Scottish football over the preceding dozen years sincethe events of 2012 involving Rangers, and in recent seasons (they had won seven of the nine trophies on offer since 2021–22, with Rangers winning the other two). Celtic had also made a stronger start to the2024–25 Scottish Premiership, including a 3–0 win over Rangers, and held an 11-point lead over their old rivals in the league table; Rangers also trailedAberdeen, whom Celtic had defeated 6–0 in their League Cup semi-final meeting.[4] Both clubs had performed credibly in Europe, each recording draws in the days leading up to the final: Celtic returned from a goallessChampions League fixture away toDinamo Zagreb,[7] and Rangers shared the points at home toTottenham Hotspur in theEuropa League, with defenderJohn Souttar substituted due to an injury which caused him to miss the Hampden showpiece.[8]
In the hours prior to the match there were incidents of disorder inGlasgow city centre, as the clubs' 'ultras' groups confronted one another, smashed shop windows and threw missiles at police.[9][10]
Within the stadium,pyrotechnics were ignited at both ends on a large scale, a common occurrence in Scottish football in the 2020s, despite warnings from governing bodies over their misuse and both Celtic and Rangers (as well asMotherwell) facing fines for the same actions at Hampden in the competition's semi-finals. Kick-off was delayed slightly to allow smoke from the devices to clear.[11][12]
Rangers took the lead in the first half whenNedim Bajrami anticipated and intercepted a pass across midfield fromGreg Taylor and fedHamza Igamane, whose shot was saved byKasper Schmeichel only for Bajrami to score from the rebound.[2][3]
Taylor redeemed his mistake early in the second half with the shot which brought the equaliser, although a deflection offNicolas Raskin took the ball past Rangers goalkeeperJack Butland. Three minutes later Celtic took the lead whenDaizen Maeda beat defenderLeon Balogun to a pass, raced forward and finished into the corner. The Rangers equaliser came fromMohamed Diomande who showed strength to turn inside the penalty area and score past Schmeichel.[2][3]
In the 87th minute, Celtic had what appeared to be a decisive goal whenNicolas Kühn dribbled upfield and had space to collect a return pass fromArne Engels after Diomande slipped while chasing back, placing the ball past Butland. However, Rangers hit back almost immediately,Václav Černý's cross met by a header from substituteDanilo to take the match to extra time.[2][3]
Few chances were created in the additional 30 minutes, although Rangers had a claim for a penalty whenLiam Scales could be seen holding Černý's shirt just inside the area.[13][14][15][16]
The outcome was therefore settled in apenalty shootout, in whichRıdvan Yılmaz of Rangers had his kick saved by Schmeichel. All other efforts (including one from Butland) were scored, with the winning penalty converted by Maeda.[2][3]
Hundreds of celebrating Celtic supporters made their way onto the pitchside track in the minutes after the shootout, which delayed the trophy presentation and was reported could result in sanctions for the club.[11]
Celtic won the 119th major trophy in their history, moving them ahead of Rangers at the top of the all-time Scottish rankings.[17] Their wingerJames Forrest claimed a 25th winner's medal with the club, equalling the record held byBobby Lennox.[18] For Rangers the outcome was very similar to their defeat in the2022 UEFA Europa League final, with captainJames Tavernier commenting that it evoked 'flashbacks' of that disappointment.[19][20]
Rangers submitted an official request for clarification from theScottish Football Association into the extra time penalty incident.[13] TheVideo Assistant Referee team had not intervened, with a reason initially provided that refereeJohn Beaton had already blown his whistle to award a free kick for a trip by Scales on Černý outside the box, half a second before the jersey pull. However, analysts including current and former officials assessed that the foul was continuous and ended inside the area.[14][15] Four days after the match, the SFA's head of referee operationsWillie Collum stated that it was a "really, really poor" and "unacceptable" decision not to review the incident and award Rangers a penalty.[16]
          Celtic |      Rangers |
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