Celtic take the lead after only 21 seconds in the Old Firm Derby against Rangers thanks to Daizen Maeda’s ‘freak’ goal at Ibrox

Celtic stunned the crowd at Ibrox when they took the lead after only 21 seconds thanks to Daizen Maeda’s freak goal against Rangers. 

The Old Firm rivals came into the clash separated by just a point, with Brendan Rodgers‘ side leading the way at the top. 

Celtic have prevailed in both matchups this season and came into the tie in good form, having recovered from a blip by their standards at the start of the year. 

Maeda charged down an attempted clearance from James Tavernier and saw the ball cannon past a helpless Jack Butland in goal. 

Though speedy, the Japan international’s strike was not fast enough to go down as the quickest goal in Old Firm history. That honour is held by Mail Sport’s Chris Sutton. 

Brendan Rodgers is looking to win his third Scottish Premiership in his second spell with the club

The former Celtic striker struck after only 19 seconds of his side’s 3-2 defeat to their arch rivals in December 2022. 

With Celtic not being at their scintillating best of recent seasons, it has given a chance to to Philippe Clement’s side, who have won 11 of their last 12 Scottish Premiership matches. 

The Ibrox outfit have won just one of their last 12 championships, several coming as they made they way back up the lower leagues, with them now only two ahead of their rivals’ all-time tally of 53. 

But those aspirations of keeping Celtic at bay took a further hit in the 34th minute when Matt O’Riley confidently placed his penalty past Butland after Connor Goldson was adjudged to have handled in the area.