McLeish maintains unbeaten record

Rangers 3 Celtic

So, Alex McLeish continues to hold sway over Martin O'Neill. On a day at Ibrox that, at times, resembled Custer's last stand for his team, the Rangers manager wore a smile of satisfaction mixed with relief at the end.

Rangers recovered from losing the quickest ever goal in an Old Firm derby, when Chris Sutton struck for Celtic after just 20 seconds, before Craig Moore, Ronald de Boer and Michael Mols gave them what looked like clear blue water by half-time.

Celtic almost bridged that gap when John Hartson gave the champions a 60th-minute lifeline, but the Rangers goalkeeper Stefan Klos refused to be beaten one more time and this contest did not quite match the thrilling six-goal draw of two months ago.

McLeish has yet to lose to Celtic since taking over here a year ago. The sequence is now six games and this win allowed Rangers to supplant their rivals at the top of the Scottish Premier League, with a two-point advantage.

"We got punished for backing off Celtic but I knew there were 89 minutes to go and I was confident we would make chances of our own,'' McLeish said. "We showed a lot of character to come back. This is my most satisfying win over Celtic because it has happened now but, if we are lucky enough to win the next time, that will be the most satisfying. Celtic really came at us in the second half. We sat deeper, trying to protect our lead, but we got to the finishing line eventually.''

For Klos, the day could hardly have ended in a more contrasting fashion to the way it had started. The former Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper still seemed shaken after the game, as he conceded: "It was unbelievable. We had a game plan and it did not include losing a goal after 20 seconds. Celtic had us under real pressure in the second half, but it's good to be back on top of the league again.''

The visitors found the net with their first attack. Hartson was allowed to jump and gather a high ball from Ulrik Laursen. The Welshman gave it to Didier Agathe and took the return before surging past Lorenzo Amoruso into the penalty area and cutting back a pass which Sutton stabbed past Maurice Ross, who handled the shot on the line but could not keep it out.

Ibrox was stunned and Celtic looked as if they would inflict further misery. Sutton threaded a fine pass into the run of Henrik Larsson, but the striker, who has been ill with a virus, swept his shot wide.

However, nine minutes later, Rangers were level. Mols won a corner and, when Fernando Ricksen delivered it, Moore pounced as Celtic's defenders failed to attack the ball and he thumped a powerful header into the roof of the net.

Yet this frenetic occasion rarely allows long passages of domination. Hartson almost put Celtic back in front in the 17th minute when a shot from Stilian Petrov, which was going wide, was redirected by the striker against the inside of a post. The ball ran along the line and stayed out.

Rangers were to take advantage of that let-off when they surged into the lead in the 34th minute. Neil McCann seized on a mistake on the left touchline by Joos Valgaeren and drove towards Bobo Baldé, before going wide of the towering defender and clipping a delicate cross to the near post where De Boer's adventurous run was matched by a clinical right-foot volley past Robert Douglas.

Hartson was denied yet again, within a minute, as Klos pushed his point-blank range header over the crossbar, before Rangers increased their lead six minutes before the interval. Celtic failed to sense the danger when Ricksen was allowed to gather a short free-kick from Amoruso and embark on a run that took him past three meek challenges before finding Shota Arveladze on the edge of the area. The Georgian striker could not control the ball, but it fell into the path of Mols, who steered a right-foot shot past Douglas.

Celtic were wounded but, if their body language spoke of defeat, an encounter with O'Neill in the dressing room produced a new sense of defiance in the second half. However, Klos ensured that the comeback did not achieve its target with a series of impressive saves. He defied Alan Thompson in the 57th minute, reaching up to his right and tipping the substitute's fierce 25-yard shot over the bar.

When Klos was beaten by a wicked deflection from Moore, Arthur Numan executed a vital clearance on the goal line. It was backs-to-the-wall for Rangers and it was little surprise when Hartson cut the deficit on the hour.

Again Thompson was the supplier, with Larsson controlling his pass into the box and touching it in to the run of Hartson, who guided his shot past Klos.

The equaliser that O'Neill craved refused to come, but the Celtic manager said: "This is only the halfway stage and there are 19 games left. We are not giving up without a fight.''

Rangers 3 Celtic 2
Moore 10, De Boer 35, Mols 40; Sutton 1, Hartson 61

Half-time: 3-1 Attendance: 49,874