Photo via Sky Sports

Rangers thump Celtic to reach League Cup semi-finals

Derek McInnes celebrated a dream Old Firm debut in the Rangers dugout as his team dismantled Celtic 3-0 at Ibrox to seal a place in the Scottish League Cup semi-finals. Stand-in captain Dan Neil opened the scoring after 23 minutes, steering a low strike into the net from distance following setup play by Ryan Naderi and Kevin Kelsy.

2 million, added a second before the hour mark when he converted at the far post. Neil then put the contest completely out of reach with fifteen minutes remaining by sweeping a superb finish into the upper corner.

Contested without visiting supporters, the derby saw Rangers impose relentless pressure and halt Celtic's six-game unbeaten streak against them in cup competitions. The visitors created virtually nothing in response, with Hassan shooting over during a rare second-half foray, while Celtic goalkeeper Johnstone was kept busy denying efforts from Minsu Kim and Naderi alongside a Liam Scales goal-line clearance.

Rangers also saw another potential goal chalked off when Nicolas Raskin touched the ball from an offside position, capping off an overwhelmingly one-sided progression to the final four.