Dermot Desmond snapped at Celtic vs Rangers as he swaps Cheltenham for chastening Old Firm experience

Dermot Desmond has been spotted at Celtic vs Rangers as the powerbroker endured a day to forget.

The Hoops came into the game as favourites and with a 16-point lead over their rivals but it has been cut to 13. Having lost 3-0 last time out at Ibrox, interim manager Barry Ferguson secured a famous 3-2 victory against Rangers as away fans returned to the famous fixture.

Celtic were at sixes and sevens in the first half, losing 2-0, before Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate levelled things up. Rangers then won the game through Hamza Igamane to delay Celtic plans for a title party.

Desmond appearance

The club’s major shareholder has been snapped at the game, having been spotted at the Cheltenham racing festival earlier this week. The major powerbroker is not a regular attendee at Celtic matches and was last spotted at the Bayern Munich clash in the Champions League over in Germany. Prior to that, it was RB Leipzig in late 2024 and then his last photo at a Celtic game stretches all the way back to the Old Firm game at Parkhead in May 2024.

Whether he has been in attendance at other games since is unknown but this was certainly a chastening experience for the major player behind the scenes. Brendan Rodgers has addressed the result with Sky Sports. He said: “That’s what the feeling was. The early goal was really good for us in the second half.

“Really good move. One of the few moments where we played how we normally play. Great cross and Daizen gets his goal. So, that felt good. And then you felt the energy in the stadium. And then we obviously get the second goal. So, from there, I expect us to then really go on and put real pressure on. And at the very least, finish with a point. So, to lose the game like we did right at the end was frustrating.”

Bitter feeling

Rodgers added to club media: “It was a disappointing result. It’s never nice to lose these games. In the first-half we went behind early, and that gave them a good feeling in the game.

“We had opportunities in the first-half but I don’t think we played well enough or had great control of the game. There were too many misplaced passes and just not aggressive enough in our game. In saying that, Jack Butland made some really good saves. We made a change at half-time, came out and got the early goal and then you could feel the energy in the stadium, and we were in a really good place.

“It was a fantastic goal, and then at 2-1 we have the impetus in the game, and when we got to 2-2, I felt there was only one team that was going to win the game.”