As Rangers and Celtic traded blows in a ding dong affair at Hampden Park, the 2024 edition of the Scottish League Cup final always felt like one that would be decided on the finest of margins.
For instance, would Rangers have gone on to defend the trophy they lifted in 2023 had Nedim Bajrami picked out a better pass with three teammates – Vaclav Cerny, Hamza Igamane and Mo Diomande – waiting to tap the ball home?
What if Nico Raskin had not deflected Greg Taylor’s volley past Jack Butland mere moments after that four-v-one opportunity was squandered?
What if the Belgian – Raskin was largely ‘excellent’ for Rangers but made a crucial error just before the hour – had put a little more on his header as Daizen Maeda fired Celtic ahead for the first time?
Philippe Clement was furious, meanwhile, after Vaclav Cerny was adjudged to have been fouled outside of The Hoops penalty area. The winger was clipped while his foot appeared to be on the line but a free-kick was given.
But while Clement lay plenty of blame at the door of the officials, he remained fulsome in his backing for Ridvan Yilmaz. The luckless left-back who – the only one to miss as Rangers and Celtic traded ten spot-kicks in the resulting penalty shoot-out – saw his effort pushed aside by a stretching Kasper Schmeichel.
Philippe Clement defends Rangers’ Ridvan Yilmaz after penalty heartbreak
“For sure, he will bounce back,” Clement says, speaking after Maeda’s lashed home from 12 yards to ensure the cup’s ribbons will change from blue to green.
“It is a hard thing to miss the decisive penalty. Not really to miss because the goalkeeper saves!”
Yilmaz is not the first player to see a penalty saved, of course. As Clement himself points out – days after the Rangers boss hailed Yilmaz’s ‘warrior’ spirit – some of the greatest talents in football history have shared that same pain.
See Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Scholes and Roberto Baggio, to name just three from modern times and modern cup finals.
“I told him really big names in world football have missed penalties,” Clement adds, pleased to see Yilmaz step up and put himself on the line. “He took responsibility and thats what I need.
“Players who take responsibility, who give everything for the colours.
“We’ve been practising the penalties all season. [Yilmaz] did really well in the training. So, it’s part of football and I’m proud of guys who take responsibility in those moments. That’s part of being in football.”
Clement explains why Jack Butland took spot-kick in Celtic loss
Goalkeeper Butland was, of course, the most surprising of Rangers’ five spot-kick takers. There was to be no Joe Hart moment for Clement’s number one, succeeding where the former Celtic glovesman failed against Aberdeen back in April.
“Like I said, everybody’s been [training[ penalties all season,” Clemenet says. “And Jack has been doing that really well.
“I would not do it, of course, in a normal game because you can get a counter-attack. But we looked really [strong in training], so that’s why [Butland took a penalty].
“Football is sometimes really cruel, but they gave everything and I was proud about that. And penalties are always a casino game, in a way. So, we’re on the wrong end today.
“It’s about digging in, keep on working what they’ve been doing and like this to become better and better the next couple of months.”
