Celtic vs Rangers: 7 Classic Old Firm Derby Clashes

​The pinnacle of Scottish football, the most ferocious rivalry in the United Kingdom and an encounter fuelled by unadulterated hatred; the Old Firm derby is quite the spectacle.

Due to both Celtic and Rangers' dominance of Scottish football, as well as the league calendar north of the English border, these two sides tend to meet at least four or five times a season, while producing some of the most chaotic and high-octane clashes around in the process.

It sure was a tricky task to whittle down to just seven classic derby day encounters between these two bitter rivals, but we did our best to capture the essence of Scotland's most important match.

So, let's get our teeth into some of these Old Firm classics, shall we?

Celtic 7-1 Rangers (1957)

While there is nothing unusual about Celtic and Rangers meeting in the Scottish League Cup final, the scoreline at Hampden Park in 1957 was more than a little surprising. In fact, to this day it remains the greatest margin of victory enjoyed by either side in an Old Firm derby, as well as a record high for any major British cup final.

A hat-trick from Billy McPhail, alongside a brace from Neil Mochan and goals from Sammy Wilson and Willie Fernie, gave the Bhoys an unprecedented win over their arch enemies, as well as allowing Celtic to secure successive League Cup titles.

More than a tad embarrassing for the Gers.

Rangers 3-2 Celtic (1973)

Unsurprisingly, we're back at Hampden. This time, however, Rangers would enjoy the last laugh.

Despite being without silverware in seven years - and strong underdogs for this Old Firm derby clash - Jock Wallace's Rangers managed to claim somewhat of a scalp in the 1973 Scottish Cup final, courtesy of Tom Forsyth's second-half winner.

This encounter was an example of exactly what an Old Firm derby should be; dramatic, end-to-end and feisty as hell. 

While Rangers took home the trophy, Celtic would be back, lifting the Scottish Cup in both of the following two seasons.

Celtic 0-3 Rangers (1999)

While this Old Firm derby was marred by the rather disgraceful antics of the Parkhead crowd, it didn't detract from Rangers' celebrations after a resounding 3-0 victory on enemy soil clinched the Light Blues the league title. 

A brace from Neil McCann and a penalty from Jorg Albertz secured an emphatic win, although several red cards and missiles thrown at referee Hugh Dallas did somewhat overshadow Rangers' important victory.

What better place to win a league title, though?

Celtic 6-2 Rangers (2000)

Eight goals, contentious refereeing decisions and a sumptuous Henrik Larsson chip. What more could you want from an Old Firm derby? Well, as a Celtic fan, of course.

Despite the current domination enjoyed by the Hoops in this fixture, Rangers were the ones who had a stranglehold on the Old Firm derby during the 1990s. However, a new century would prove a turning point for Celtic.

A brace from Chris Sutton and Larsson himself set Celtic on their way to a historic victory at Parkhead, dismantling a flat-footed Rangers with complete and utter ease. Three goals in the opening 11 minutes more or less finished proceedings before they had even begun, but Celtic showed no mercy, capitalising on mistake after mistake from their rivals.

Rangers 5-1 Celtic (2000)

​Revenge is sweet.

Despite having been trounced by Celtic earlier in the season, Rangers appeared unaffected by their Parkhead battering, putting on a show to settle the score at Ibrox.

The scores were level going into the final half-an-hour before Tore Andre Flo gave Rangers the lead on the 60th minute, and Alan Thompson's red card only emancipated things for the visitors. The Light Blues went on to score three more times before the final whistle, revelling in some much-needed redemption in front of the Ibrox crowd.

Unfortunately for Rangers, their bitter rivals would still go on to win the title by a resounding 15 points.

Rangers 3-2 Celtic (2002)

Peter Lovenkrands needed only 90 minutes to write his name into Rangers folklore.

Despite having twice fallen behind, Rangers found themselves level heading into the dying embers of the 2002 Scottish Cup final. Having already found the back of the net earlier in the game, Lovenkrands sent the blue half of Hampden into ecstasy with just six seconds of normal time remaining, heading home from close range for the winner.

It was Rangers' second piece of silverware of the season and who better to win it against, eh?

Rangers 2-3 Celtic (2018)

​Despite having led twice at Ibrox, as well as playing against ten men for almost a third of the game, a new-look Rangers still fell short at the hands of Celtic in 2018 - something that has become increasingly common for the Light Blues in recent history.

An adrenaline-fuelled thrill ride, Odsonne Edouard's second-half strike was a worthy winner of an end-to-end modern classic in the Old Firm, but the Gers will feel slightly hard done by that they weren't able to salvage even a point out of this one.

However, it's fair to say that Rangers have improved significantly since this meeting and, as a result, we look forward to some more competitive and swashbuckling Glasgow derby days in the near future.