Rangers 1-2 Celtic: Kyogo Furuhashi's double retains Scottish League Cup for Ange Postecoglou's side

Kyogo Furuhashi was Celtic's Hampden hero once again as his double saw them retain the Scottish League Cup with a 2-1 victory over Rangers in a thrilling final.

The Japanese striker, who also scored twice to secure the title last season, returned to the starting line-up after injury to keep the Hoops on course for a domestic treble.

He sent the Celtic fans wild with his opener just ahead of half-time before doubling their lead just after the break.

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Alfredo Morelos turned James Tavernier's free-kick into the net to give Rangers hope, but they could not find a way to end Celtic's dominance as Michael Beale suffered his first defeat since taking charge at Ibrox.

Celtic have now won the trophy seven times in the last nine seasons, while their Old Firm rivals have not managed to lift the trophy since 2011.

How Celtic beat Rangers to retain League Cup

Rangers duo Malik Tillman and John Lundstram started after recovering from injury, while Aaron Mooy and Kyogo were named in Celtic's starting line-up.

It was a frantic start at a sell-out Hampden Park as both sides looked to stamp their authority on the game with some strong challenges.

Celtic threatened first as Kyogo tried to set up Daizen Maeda with a cushioned header before the Hoops' defence was called into action at the other end to clear the danger before Tillman could get a shot away.

There were shouts for a Celtic penalty when Kyogo went down under a challenge from Allan McGregor in the 21st minute and moments later the Rangers goalkeeper reacted to push Jota's effort clear.

Cameron Carter-Vickers' last-ditch challenge denied Morelos the opener for Celtic just after the half hour as he slid in to divert Tavernier's ball past the post.

Kyogo fired wide twice and headed over the bar before putting Celtic ahead before the break.

Greg Taylor delivered a lovely cross which Maeda missed at the near post and the Scottish Premiership's top scorer timed his run perfectly to tap in from inside the six-yard box.

The Celtic end erupted.

There were no changes for either side at the break and Rangers went agonisingly close to a quick second-half equaliser as Ryan Kent's shot hit the post before Fashion Sakala put the rebound into the side-netting.

The holders then took control and Kyogo doubled their lead in the 56th minute as he collected a pass from Reo Hatate to fire in.

With the Celtic fans in full celebration, Morelos threw Rangers a lifeline eight minutes later when he turned Tavernier's free-kick into the net to lift the mood at the other end of the stadium.

Both sides then rang the changes as Todd Cantwell, Nicolas Raskin and Ryan Jack replaced Lundstram, Glen Kamara and Tillman for Rangers and Liel Abada and Matt O'Riley came on for Celtic duo Mooy and Jota.

Rangers continued to press and Kyogo was replaced by Hyeong-Yu Oh with Hatate subbed for Tomoki Iwata, while Morelos was taken off for Antonio Colak as nerves jangled in the stands.

The Celtic fans were once again screaming for a penalty in the 83rd minute as Abada tried to draw a foul from Ben Davies, but the forward was instead booked for diving.

After Colak went close to a Rangers equaliser, McGregor was called into action to deny Celtic substitute Sead Haksabanovic at the other end before the striker missed a glaring chance to make it 3-1 deep in injury time.

Postecoglou: We earned our victory

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Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou said they never take a win for granted:

"It's funny, at the end of games the overwhelming feeling is relief. People think you're jumping for joy but it's just relief because of what it means to everyone at the club.

"We carry that burden through the 95 minutes and when the final whistle goes it's relief you've got the job done.

"These are just the expectations at this club.

"I have just spoken to Gordon Strachan. You know how hard it is to follow guys like that? And Martin O'Neill, Brendan Rodgers and Neil Lennon?

"This club is steeped in success so when you take the job you know that's the responsibility.

"That doesn't diminish the achievement. We still celebrate as we don't take it for granted.

"You don't just roll up in a Celtic shirt and it's given to you, you have to earn it and we did."

Beale: I expected more

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Michael Beale conceded Rangers did not do enough to win:

"These are the sort of days where there's fine margins in cup finals, you've got to do better in and around the boxes. These are the days where you realise how big your job is.

"I've just explained that to the players and it's up to us now how we want to end this season.

"We've got 12 league games to go and a quarter-final of a cup coming up so the story for this season for us can still have the right type of ending.

"That's no consolation this evening for our fans and us as a group. We're bitterly disappointed with the result obviously.

"Naturally they [the players] will be disappointed and these cup finals don't come round every day, they're big opportunities to be taken and we haven't taken one today.

"It's certainly going to be sore, it's got to make us stronger, it's got to make us bite down on the gumshield and me stronger with our approach and daily work."

What's next?

The attention turns back to the Scottish Premiership with Rangers at home to Kilmarnock on March 4. Kick-off 3pm.

Celtic are away to St Mirren on March 5, live on Sky Sports. That match kicks off at 12pm.

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