Rangers 0-1 Celtic
Portuguese forward Jota was the matchwinner in the Old Firm Derby this weekend as Scottish champions Celtic booked their place in the FA Cup final with victory over Rangers.
The Glasgow rivals met at Hampden Park to battle it out for the right to meet Inverness CT in the final on 2nd June. One goal separated the sides on the day, with former Benfica man Jota heading the winner a few minutes before half time to keep the Hoops on course for a treble.
“It’s a great emotion for me but I know this came from a lot of hard work,” Jota said after the victory. “We are like a unit so we’re all together on this in order for me to score – someone has to cross it, someone had to steal the ball before then.
“So it’s all in one and I’m just so happy to be part of this team with amazing lads and amazing staff, and I just keep on going.
“We’re very, very pleased with this win. I thought the boys put in an amazing shift again. We came with all of our strengths and we achieved our goal, which was the victory, to get to the final. So I’m thrilled with everything that is happening right now in this football club and I hope we can continue the run.
'It’s always special to play in these games and these are the ones where you always learn the most, that we feel the most, and we just want to feel alive.
“So whenever you get the opportunity to go out there and play against this kind of teams, that makes you be the best version of yourself, it’s always really important. So we just want to keep on doing this.”
On a great weekend for Portuguese goal scorers, Jota’s winner for Celtic against Rangers in the FA Cup semi final is right up there pic.twitter.com/ZsPLvP8UNE
— Sean Gillen (@SeanGillen9) May 1, 2023
Celtic secured the League Cup with victory over Rangers in February and have wrapped up the defence of their Premiership league title. If Jota’s men can beat Inverness in June they will clinch a domestic treble for the 8th time in their history.
“As a Celtic player and be in this amazing group, we always aim for the trophies,” said Jota. “But we know that in order to achieve that, we’ve had to work hard since day one and that’s what we’ve been doing since the beginning of the season.
“Now we’re just collecting the fruits that we planted before, and it’s just another game next week, and then another one and another one until the end of the season. So we don’t stop!”
By Sean Gillen
