Another Hampden Park final against the Rangers and another trophy for Celtic. It was Brendan Rodgers' tenth piece of silverware as Hoops manager as they clinched the Scottish League Cup following a thrilling game. It had ended 3-3 after 120-plus minutes of action and ultimately, it all came down to a penalty save from Kasper Schmeichel.
Celtic were faultless from the spot, converting all five of their penalties. On the other hand, Ridvan Yilmaz saw his one saved by Schmeichel.
As a result, the Dane proved to be the hero of the night for Celtic while the Rangers were left disappointed once again. Perhaps they will take heart from the fact that they took Celtic to the wire. They have rarely done that in recent times.
A penalty incident on the day became a topic of discussion as well. Many Rangers fans felt that their side should have been handed a spot kick for a foul from Liam Scales. But was that really the case?
Why Rangers were rightly not given a penalty vs Celtic
As Paul John Dykes pointed out, Scales was penalised for the first foul, which was outside the box. The shirt-pulling was the second infringement.
At the end of the day, there were plenty of decisions which went the Rangers' way as well. If the shoe was on the other hand, Celtic fans would have been complaining too. That is just the nature of football.
At the end of the day, what matters most is the result. On the night, Celtic lifted the trophy while the Rangers were left searching for answers once again. It was a close contest for sure but one cannot overlook the fact that the Hoops were nowhere near their best and they still had enough in the tank to win a cup final against their closest rivals.