Scottish Cup final: Rangers and Hearts meet at Hampden

5 talking points after Rangers reach Scottish Cup final

Rangers beat Celtic 2-1 after extra time to reach the Scottish Cup final at Hampden at the weekend.

The Light Blues came from behind following Greg Taylor’s 64th-minute opener.

Scott Arfield levelled 12 minutes from time and Celtic could not respond as Fashion Sakala claimed the winning goal in extra time despite Carl Starfelt being credited with an own goal.

Here are five things we learned from the Hampden semi-final.

Rangers’ fitness levels are not in doubt

The Light Blues secured their second extra-time victory inside 64 hours as Calvin Bassey’s lung-bursting overlap set up the winner deep into the additional 30 minutes.

Many observers tipped Celtic to make the most of their eight-day gap between games but, although Aaron Ramsey went off injured in the first half, Rangers showed little sign of suffering more fatigue than their opponents following their exertions in the Europa League quarter-finals against Braga.

Treble chances gone

The Hoops have missed out on the opportunity to record a fifth domestic clean sweep in six seasons having already claimed the Premier Sports Cup.

Boss Ange Postecoglou had the opportunity to follow Martin O’Neill and Brendan Rodgers in winning a treble in his first season in charge.

Is there new life in the title fight?

Rangers will hope that Celtic’s first domestic defeat in 34 matches can cause a bit of doubt in the cinch Premiership leaders, who are six points and 19 goals better off than Rangers with five matches left.