Former Celtic striker Ian Wright admits last month’s Old Firm classic at Parkhead was one of the best games he’s watched in a while.
Rangers went into the clash off the back of 120 minutes of nerve-shredding Europa League football against Fenerbahce in the last 16 second leg at Ibrox.
Jack Butland’s penalty shootout heroics secured victory for Rangers in the end, with Celtic heading into the Old Firm certainly the fresher team.
But Rangers regrouped and composed themselves for the derby, where they were comfortably the better team in the east end of Glasgow.
Rangers flew into a 2-0 lead before Celtic pegged them back to 2-2. But Hamza Igamane was the derby hero as his late winner saw jubilant scenes erupt in the away end and Rangers dugout.
Ian Wright loved Rangers Old Firm win over Celtic
Wright was a huge fan of the encounter and loved the old school nature of the occasion.
The Arsenal icon admitted he was thoroughly entertained, in stark contrast to what he watched on Sunday as Manchester United and Manchester City played out a dull 0-0 draw at Old Trafford.
Wright wasn’t expecting El Clasico levels of quality from the Old Firm, but the competitiveness and spirit from both teams was a joy for him to watch.
Speaking on The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast, Wright said: “A game I saw, Roy (Keane), was the Old Firm derby a couple of weeks ago when Rangers won 3-2. It was a game.
“It was end to end, players trying, tackles flying, no-one got booked for 35 minutes, the VAR didn’t get involved in it. And it wasn’t like, oh my God, it’s Real Madrid and Barcelona.
“It was Celtic and Rangers and they were going for it. And it was one of the most entertaining games I’ve seen for a long time.”
Roy Keane clearly still hurting from Rangers win
But former Celtic midfielder and Manchester United hero Roy Keane was keen to dampen Wright’s spirits and tried to qualify Rangers’ tremendous win.
Keane played for Celtic in 2006 after leaving Old Trafford and is clearly still resentful after Rangers won at Celtic Park for the first time since October 2020.
He tried to argue that Rangers won the game only because Celtic already had the Premiership title wrapped up.
Keane responded to Wright, saying: “Yeah, but the situation was that Celtic already have won the league, so Rangers are going to come and have a go, aren’t they?
“When we’re watching games, our teams, like just United at the moment, or even City, their focus is more about not losing than going to win. That was definitely the case on Sunday. I know it’s not the case every time (Celtic and Rangers) play.”
