Celtic edge closer to Hampden showdown as Rodgers welcomes Rangers challenge in Cup semi

Celtic moved a step closer to a Hampden showdown with Rangers by hammering Partick Thistle 4-0 at Firhill on Sunday to reach the Premier Sports Cup semi-finals. Brendan Rodgers’ side, the defending champions, will meet either Motherwell or St Mirren in the last four. Celtic have not defeated Rangers in a 90-minute competition match since September of last year, a four-game run that Rodgers said must be turned around, beginning with the semi against the Old Firm rivals. The win at Firhill also served as a reminder that performance and rhythm are developing, even as off-field tensions continued to shadow the fixture list ahead of the showdown.

Sebastian Tounekti scored his first goals for Celtic, opening the scoring as part of a dominant display that saw Yang-Hyun Jun, Liam Scales and Luke McCowan add the other strikes. The result reinforced Celtic’s growing fluency in Rodgers’ system, with the new signings contributing meaningfully in a performance that at times suggested the early-season disruption is giving way to cohesion. The 4-0 result at Firhill followed a week in which the club’s accounts, showing cash reserves just shy of £80 million, drew attention from supporters who again voiced their frustration with the board during the match.

I will never tell the supporters what to do or feel, but I don't think they've forgotten the team, they continued to support them. The players feel it and they get encouraged by it. The fans gave us great backing all day, and I was really pleased with the performance and the result. You have to be really professional, and we were. The players passed it well and created some really good moments in the game. We're building. It's hard to go through nine months in the season being hot. With everything going on in the window, it's taken some time for players to come in, but the fluency and rhythm of the team are beginning to arrive.

Tounekti’s movement and pace were a constant threat, and Rodgers said the winger excites him because he can impact the game in multiple ways. "He excites me every time he gets the ball and that's what we were desperate for in the team," the Celtic manager said. "He's come in really aggressive. He's a really talented boy because he can go either way and also, not only that, he can run in behind. You see the numbers of times he makes runs. Sometimes he doesn't get it, sometimes he does, but he's running off the ball as well. I'm really excited for where he is and where we can bring him to. But, importantly, supporters will love watching him because he's so exciting. I think that when you come here and if you look through the history of this club, it's littered with amazing wingers and that's the football we play. The DNA of this club is based on attacking football and that is with wingers on the side of the pitch that can take people on, beat people."

The win also featured a 90-minute return for Kieran Tierney, who has been easing back to full fitness since rejoining the club in the summer. Tierney, who completed the entire 90 minutes, said the process has been gradual but is confident he is building towards peak form. "If you look back the last couple of seasons, it’s been stop-start for me so it's not going to be as simple as just come in and be 100 per cent straight away," he said. "That’s why I've been so lucky with the gaffer here and the team here that they've given me time. Bit by bit I'll build it up, but it was a good 90 minutes to get under my belt as well and I feel great."

Rodgers’ remarks after the game underscored the strategic balance he is trying to strike: maintain professional focus amid a backdrop of protest while accelerating the integration of new players and building momentum ahead of the Hampden date. He reiterated that the semi-final represents a pivotal test, not only for the club’s ambition in this competition but also for the mood around the squad as the window closes and a run of fixtures unfolds.

The semi-final pairing will pit Celtic against the winner of the Motherwell–St Mirren clash, setting up a potential Old Firm encounter that would renew one of Scotland’s fiercest rivalries at Hampden. Rodgers framed the upcoming fixtures as opportunities to shore up rhythm and confidence, and he credited the players with responding to the challenge of high expectations while navigating a period of flux around arrivals in the transfer window. He also highlighted that the supporters’ continued backing has been a motivational factor for the squad as it seeks to translate late-game momentum into a Cup run.

As Celtic prepare for the next stage, attention will turn to how the team maintains the balance of attacking intent and defensive solidity that has become more apparent in recent performances. With Tounekti, Yang, Scales and McCowan all contributing to the scoring sheet and Tierney building match sharpness, Rodgers will be hopeful that a cohesive unit is forming in time for a high-stakes semi-final and, if successful, a Hampden final against either Motherwell or St Mirren. The Old Firm rivalry will add an extra layer of intensity to what promises to be a defining stretch of the season for Celtic, both on the park and in the stands.