THIS WILL TAKE SOME BEATON

Ref has a stinker as Old Firm stars put on a show to remember in derby-day classic

- CRAIG SWAN

PHILIPPE CLEMENT looked dead and buried when he arrived into this title race.

He looked to be crumbling out of it again at half-time here. And ticking into injurytime after Rangers had fought back only to be knocked back down again by another hammer blow, it just looked too much to overcome.

Yet Clement's team simply will not go away in this quest for glory.

And on a day of chaos, controversy and drama at Ibrox, they somehow hauled themselves back from the brink just as Celtic looked to be heading out of sight.

This was Clement's second taste of Old Firm mayhem. If he's here for the next 20 years he'll not have another like this.

It started with a freak goal inside 21 seconds. It finished with players squaring up.

In 100 minutes of carnage in between, Celtic were awarded a penalty by VAR, Rangers were awarded a penalty by VAR and the home side had a goal chopped off on the advice of VAR.

Ref John Beaton appeared to get all of those initial big decisions wrong and needed Nick Walsh to correct him each time. Not quite incompetent but not very good - unlike this game.

Brendan Rodgers says his team will write their own story in this title race.

Twice Celtic put the pen firmly in his hands.

Daizen Maeda's bizarre opener and a penalty from Matt O'Riley had them in charge at the break.

Their lead would be wiped out only for sub Adam Idah to thrillingly put them back in front with just moments of normal time remaining.

At that point a four-point lead looked assured.

Rodgers, the master of the Old Firm game, was set for his 13th win in 16 games as a boss in the fixture.