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Rangers who drew first blood after just five minutes. Joos Valgaeren cleared Fernando Ricksen's deflected shot to Arteta and the Spaniard's low drive from 22 yards slipped under the body of Douglas.

But the pendulum switched midway through the half thanks to Celtic's fighting spirit in what was at times a traditionally fiery affair. Celtic looked to have good claims for a penalty denied by referee Stuart Dougal when Fernando Ricksen appeared to barge into Stilian Petrov.

Celtic eventually got the equaliser their pressure deserved after 39 minutes. Larsson's first touch to a Momo Sylla cross was not great, but his turn and shot from 15 yards was superb and bulged the net.

Celtic continued where they left off and took the lead eight minutes after the break. Larsson beat Arthur Numan to a Petrov corner and the Swede's header flew into the net from eight yards.

Celtic's lead lasted less than 60 seconds, Lorenzo Amoruso sending Neil McCann down the wing. The winger swung in a cross that was headed home by De Boer with both Bobo Balde and Douglas floundering.

Only a superb, point-blank save by Stefan Klos prevented Larsson restoring the lead with an unchallenged header. And Douglas redeemed himself slightly by turning wide a snap shot through a forest of legs by Arteta.

A Thompson free kick clipped the top of the Rangers bar and Douglas did well to deflect a low drive from Arveladze.

But it was Rangers who took the lead after 76 minutes when Douglas spilled a low drive from Numan and Arveladze forced the ball home off the shin of Ulrik Laursen.

It took Celtic two minutes to again restore parity as O'Neill went for broke by sending on two more strikers, Shaun Maloney and John Hartson.

Thompson's free kick was headed back across goal, Konterman mis-judged the flight of the ball and Sutton was there to prod the ball home.

Teams

Celtic:-
Douglas, Sylla (Agathe 59), Valgaeren, Laursen, Balde, Thompson, Lambert (Maloney 77), Lennon, Petrov (Hartson 74), Sutton, Larsson.
Subs not used:- Gould, Crainey.
Goals:- Larsson 39, 53, Sutton 78.
Booked:- Thompson, Sylla, Balde.

Rangers:-
Klos, Ricksen, Moore (Konterman 45), Amoruso, Numan, Ferguson, de Boer (Caniggia 84), Ross, Arteta, Arveladze, Lovenkrands (McCann 50).
Subs not used:- McGregor, Latapy.
Goals:- Arteta 6, de Boer 54, Arveladze 75.
Booked:- de Boer, Ricksen, Arveladze, Ross.

Att:- 59,027
Ref:- S Dougal.

Articles

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• Match Report (BBC)

Pictures

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Stats

Celtic		Rangers
10	Shots on Target	4
5	Shots Off Target	3
9	Fouls (Conceded)	15
7	Corners	3
3	Yellow Cards	4
0	Red Cards	0

Old Firm in thrilling draw

Ronald de Boer celebrates after scoring for Rangers
Ronald de Boer scored Rangers' second goal
Celtic 3-3 Rangers
Give your reaction on the Old Firm game

Henrik Larsson and Chris Sutton saved the blushes of Celtic goalkeeper Rab Douglas as the first Old Firm clash of the season ended in a scintillating stalemate.

Scotland No.1 Douglas was badly at fault for two of Rangers' goals - and had a questionable role in the third - as Ibrox boss Alex McLeish maintained his unbeaten record in these Glasgow derbies.

Douglas let a Mikel Arteta drive squirm under his body for the game's opening goal.

Photo gallery: Old Firm thriller

Larsson struck twice before Ronald De Boer rose unchallenged then Shota Arveladze pounced on another Douglas error to put Rangers ahead.

Mikel Arteta celebrates after putting Rangers ahead
Mikel Arteta gave Rangers an early lead
But the champions hit back again through Sutton to ensure that Rangers did not extend their one point lead in the Scottish Premier League.

The visitors were still in shock following their disappointing Uefa Cup exit at the hands of Viktoria Zizkov after 120 gruelling minutes on Thursday.

Although many predicted fatigue could be a factor, Alex McLeish made only one change, Maurice Ross being preferred to Bert Konterman in defence.

Celtic boss Martin O'Neill had the luxury of resting his first team as they completed a 10-1 demolition of Suduva in Lithuania.

Alan Thompson was the only player to keep his place and only then because Steve Guppy failed a fitness test to a painful back injury.

Key moments
7 mins: Arteta'a drive puts Rangers ahead
39 mins: Larsson equalises with a superb turn and shot
53 mins: Larsson heads Celtic into the lead
54 mins: De Boer heads Rangers level
76 mins: Arveladze bundles the ball home for Rangers
78 mins: Sutton prods home the equaliser

But it was Rangers who drew first blood after just five minutes.

Joos Valgaeren cleared Fernando Ricksen's deflected shot to Arteta and the Spaniard's low drive from 22 yards slipped under the body of Douglas.

Rangers' slick passing kept the visitors in control following that goalkeeping error.

But the pendulum switched midway through the half thanks to Celtic's fighting spirit in what was at times a traditionally fiery affair.

Celtic looked to have good claims for a penalty denied by referee Stuart Dougal when Fernando Ricksen appeared to barge into Stilian Petrov.

The champions eventually got the equaliser their pressure deserved after 39 minutes.

Larsson's first touch to a Momo Sylla cross was not great, but his turn and shot from 15 yards was superb and bulged the net.

Rangers suffered a blow at half-time, with the injured Craig Moore having to be replaced with Konterman.

Celtic continued where they left off and took the lead eight minutes after the break.

Larsson beat Arthur Numan to a Petrov corner and the Swede's header flew into the net from eight yards.

Celtic's lead lasted less than 60 seconds, Lorenzo Amoruso sending Neil McCann down the wing.

The Scotland winger, who had just come on for Peter Lovenkrands, swung in a cross that was headed home by De Boer with both Bobo Balde and Douglas floundering.


Only a superb, point-blank save by Stefan Klos prevented Larsson restoring the lead with an unchallenged header.

And Douglas redeemed himself slightly by turning wide a snap shot through a forest of legs by Arteta.

A Thompson free kick clipped the top of the Rangers bar and Douglas did well to deflect a low drive from Arveladze.


But it was Rangers who took the lead after 76 minutes when Douglas spilled a low drive from Numan and Arveladze forced the ball home off the shin of Ulrik Laursen.

It took Celtic two minutes to again restore parity as O'Neill went for broke by sending on two more strikers, Shaun Maloney and John Hartson.

Thompson's free kick was headed back across goal, Konterman mis-judged the flight of the ball and Sutton was there to prod the ball home.

Celtic: Douglas, Sylla (Agathe 59), Valgaeren, Laursen, Balde, Thompson, Lambert (Maloney 77), Lennon, Petrov (Hartson 74), Sutton, Larsson. Subs Not Used: Gould, Crainey.

Booked: Thompson, Sylla, Balde.

Goals: Larsson 39, 53, Sutton 78.

Rangers: Klos, Ricksen, Moore (Konterman 45), Amoruso, Numan, Ferguson, de Boer (Caniggia 84), Ross, Arteta, Arveladze, Lovenkrands (McCann 50). Subs Not Used: McGregor, Latapy.

Booked: de Boer, Ricksen, Arveladze, Ross.

Goals: Arteta 6, de Boer 54, Arveladze 75.

Attendance: 59,027

Referee: S Dougal.

Honours even for the Old Firm

Graham Clark at Parkhead
The Guardian, Monday 7 October 2002 21.48 BST

Celtic and Rangers showed that the Ryder Cup does not have a monopoly on sporting drama and excitement by producing their own televised spectacular. Yesterday's fiercely contested Old Firm fixture lacked the finesse of Colin Montgomerie and Tiger Woods but for raw, uncompromising and passionate entertainment the east end of Glasgow will not bow to the Belfry or anywhere else.

In the end the two clubs shared the points after a pulsating match, and few could quibble with that outcome. Both held the lead at various stages but neither edged sufficiently far ahead to claim the game.

Rangers will claim a moral victory as visitors and after their debilitating Uefa Cup defeat last Thursday night but they were given a reluctant helping hand by Robert Douglas, who made two crucial mistakes.

The Celtic goalkeeper's first came after only six minutes when he allowed Mikel Arteta's long-range drive to slip through his grasp. Henrik Larsson's wonderfully taken equaliser after 39 minutes and the Swede's second to put Celtic ahead seemed to get Douglas off the hook, but after Ronald de Boer's fine header made it 2-2 - those goals within 45 seconds of each other after 53 minutes - Douglas spilled an Arthur Numan shot to allow Shota Arveladze to edge Rangers in front again after 76 minutes. The final act in the drama came two minutes after that when Chris Sutton made it 3-3.

Celtic's manager Martin O'Neill conceded: "Robert is very downcast and it wasn't his best day but this was a result that got away as far as we were concerned, because I felt we controlled most of the match. It was surreal to find ourselves 3-2 down but we showed a lot of character and although I was disappointed with the result I was pleased with the performance."

O'Neill refused to be drawn over his forthcoming contract talks after the chairman Brian Quinn said he expected the Irishman to sign a new three- or four-year deal in the next two weeks, when attentions switch to the international team and there are no domestic distractions.

"Initial talks have already been held and we now have 10 days during which time Martin wants to sit down and talk terms. We're ready whenever he is," Quinn said. "Martin has been making more positive noises recently and I trust that means he is ready to sit down to some serious business. It certainly won't be a one-year deal and I want to be able to agree something like three or four years because we are building under Martin."

What Celtic are not doing is beating Rangers, and this was O'Neill's fifth failed attempt to better his counterpart at Ibrox Alex McLeish, who was pleased with the point that kept his team top of the Premier League.

"That was our aim from the start," he confirmed. "Yet to score three goals here and not win is a little disappointing even if the players deserve nothing but praise."

One downside was that Barry Ferguson is doubtful for Scotland's Euro 2004 qualifier in Iceland on Saturday. The Rangers midfielder had to take painkillers to get through the match and has been struggling with a hip injury, but McLeish said the decision to play him would rest with the Scotland doctors and Berti Vogts, the national manager.

McLeish also revealed that he had doubts before yesterday's derby about Craig Moore, who lasted only 45 minutes, and De Boer. But the Dutch player insisted: "I wanted to play in this one because it is always a special occasion." It was certainly that.

Yesterday's match provided six goals, seven bookings - for the Celtic trio Momo Sylla, Bobo Baldé and Alan Thompson and the Rangers quartet Stefan Klos, Fernando Ricksen, De Boer and Maurice Ross - and Moore, Ricksen and Thompson became embroiled in a confrontation in the tunnel at half-time. Celtic also vainly claimed a first- half penalty for a push by Ricksen on Stilian Petrov, O'Neill was taken to task by the referee Stuart Dougal for remonstrating on the touchline, and De Boer almost joined the visiting fans after his goal.

When the dust had settled, Larsson insisted: "We will fight to hang on to the title."

Man of the match: Henrik Larsson (Celtic)
The Swedish striker continues to defy those who believe he is past his best.
Best moment:
His first goal was a moment of supreme skill as he turned Craig Moore and volleyed Celtic's equaliser.