And breathe. That was all quite nerve-wracking, wasn't it? You'll have to go a long way to find a better final this season, however Celtic They are jubilant winners once again, winning the League Cup.
It was a hectic match at Hampden that saw the game go back and forth with both sides trailing and both sides holding the lead at one stage or another.
It started disastrously for Celtic against their old rival, with Nedim Bajrami finding the net but… Greg Taylor and Daizen Maeda Brendan Rodgers' side gave hope in the second half.
But, but…incredible carnage in the final quarter of the game. Mohamed Diomandi equalized 15 minutes from time for Rangers before Hoops winger Nicholas Kuhn appeared to have won the title three games back. Just minutes later, Danilo emerged to send the match into extra time.
Nothing could separate the two teams at the end of 90 minutes and nothing could separate them at the end of extra time. But what separates them is the absence of Ridvan Yilmaz from the place.
A jubilant Celtic side won an epic final 5-4 on penalties, and it certainly wasn't easy, as left-back Taylor will surely attest.
Greg Taylor's performance by the numbers
What a rollercoaster of an afternoon for the left-back in a true villain-to-hero performance at Hampden.
With the emergence of Alex Valle this season, he has become the Scot His playing time in a Hoops jersey has diminished somewhat And from his performance in the first half of the cup final, it was clear to see why he was not playing all 90 minutes.
As he put it Martin Dowden on BBC SportIt was a “reckless moment” from the defender that led to Rangers opening the scoring.
Taylor tried to pass a simple ball towards Cameron Carter-Vickers, but Bajrami intercepted it and then raced towards the goal before playing it towards Hamza Eghamani. His effort was initially denied by Kasper Schmeichel but Bajrami was there on the follow-up to score an easy goal.
Fortunately for the Bhoys, the Scotland international made up for his disastrous error in the second half by scoring the goal himself.
Cone's corner kick went out to the full-back on the edge of the area before he slotted it home with a huge deflection off the outstretched leg of Nicola Raskin.
So, given that moment of luck, it was certainly difficult to argue that Taylor was the worst player in the green and white on Sunday. Instead, perhaps that honor should go to the midfielder Ryo hatate.
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Ryo Hatate's performance against Rangers
On his day, the Japanese star could be a great player to watch, in particular He scored nine goals and made 11 assists During the 2022/23 season.
He has been plagued by injuries in 2023/24 and in the current campaign, it appears he is still struggling to get up to speed when you consider his performance against Rangers on Sunday.
After Daisen Maeda put the Celtics 2-1 ahead in the second half, Neil Lennon said on commentary that big moments require big players, and while one Japanese star found some form in a pivotal moment, his fellow countryman in Hatate failed to really do the job in In the middle of the garden.
He was particularly guilty of surrendering possession on a very regular basis and was subsequently extradited Player rating: 6/10 by Daily Log Who noted that he “struggled to exert himself” in the competition.
Auston Trusty was withdrawn at the end of the first half, but in truth, Hatate wasn't supposed to return for the second half either.
The 27-year-old set the tone for a poor performance with what he did just five minutes from time. Final nerve cup? maybe. Either way, it wasn't the class and quality we'd expect from a midfielder who passed the ball to the aforementioned Taylor but let it slide under his foot and went straight out of play.
His performance and the first half really typified that for Celtic. They were much better in the second 45 minutes, but Hattat did little to motivate his side and will find himself lucky to start the next game with Arne Engels – who set up Kuhn's goal – waiting in the wings.
He did, at least, find the back of the net from the penalty spot but the Hoops will count their lucky stars that Hatate's overall performance did not come back to bite them this evening. They will leave as championship winners once again.
