During a breathtaking 90 minutes Rangers produced a admirable show of courage after a humiliating and tiring UEFA Cup exit to twice take the lead and come from behind against the champions.

Mikel Arteta, Ronald De Boer and Ulrik Laursen own goal gave the home side plenty to think about, but a brilliant Henrik Larsson double and Sutton strike gave both teams a share of the points.

Rangers certainly looked fired up at the start, but nerves from Maurice Ross almost gifted Celtic an early breakthrough.

Stilian Petrov seized on the Scotland youngster’s poor control, but with two against two the Bulgarian failed to thread the ball through to Larsson and Stefan Klos came out quickly to claim.

But it was the visitors who drew first blood after just five minutes through Arteta in his first Old Firm derby.

Valgaeren cleared Fernando Ricksen’s cross to the Spaniard and the midfielder hit a first time shot which squirmed under the body of Robert Douglas and into the corner.

Alan Thompson attempted a quick reply moment later, but he fired his hopeful right-foot effort well over the crossbar.

The home side were letting their frustrations boil over and Sutton jumped into Rangers skipper Barry Ferguson before Thompson was booked for a badly-timed challenge on Ross.

The Celtic fans were screaming for a penalty in the 14th minute when Lambert went down under a Peter Lovenkrands challenge.

Sylla became the next player to go into referee Stuart Dougal’s notebook following a reckless tackle on Lovenkrands after 17 minutes.

The home crowd were again calling for a spot kick in the 20th minute after Fernando Ricksen tackled Larsson.

Rangers put themselves under increasing pressure with two poor tackles outside the box, but Klos was equal to efforts from Larsson and then Sylla.

The match rapidly became a battle and Bobo Balde and Ronald de Boer were both shown yellow cards after an off-the-ball clash.

The pressure was beginning to tell on the Rangers defence and Ricksen was fortunate not to give away a penalty in the 25th minute after a challenge on Petrov from behind.

The Dutchman was not so lucky on the half hour when he was cautioned after a challenge on Neil Lennon.

The tackles continued to fly around and Ferguson gave Celtic another chance to threaten when he upended Thompson, but Larsson again failed to find the power or direction to beat Klos from 25 yards.

Rangers were hanging on to their advantage as Celtic piled on the pressure and Larsson almost got on the end of Thompson’s cross in the 36th minute after a quick turn of pace on the left flank

But the Swede produced a sensational strike to level the scores just six minutes before the break.

With his back to goal and Craig Moore behind him he controlled an in-field pass from Momo Sylla before spinning around to drill an unstoppable right-foot shot past Klos and into the top corner.

Celtic continued to press and Valgaeren should have done better three minutes later when he headed Petrov’s corner over.

The Ibrox men found themselves under attack straight away after the break and Klos needed to claw away an awkward corner from Thompson from under his crossbar with Balde lurking ominously.

But in the 52nd minute, Celtic did go ahead and it was no surprise at the identity of the goalscorer.

Larsson arrived unchallenged to head Petrov’s corner home from close range for his 15th goal of the season.

But that lead lasted less than a minute with the home side still caught up in the celebration.

Substitute Neil McCann curled an inviting ball into the box and de Boer leaped to head emphatically past Douglas from six yards.

Douglas made amends for his earlier blunder in the 72nd minute when he got down well to save Arveladze’s right-foot shot.

But the Scotland goalkeeper was again found wanting in the 75th minute as Rangers stunned the home crowd by taking the lead.

He failed to hold an Arthur Numan shot and with Arveladze in threatening the ball spun over the line off the foot of Ulrik Laursen.

But that lasted just two minutes as Sutton poked the ball home from close range after Rangers had failed to clear a Thompson free-kick.

Ross was shown a yellow card in the 82nd minute for a rash challenge on substitute Maloney before Arteta shot into the sidenetting.

Celtic threw everything forward in search of late winner that would have put them back in top spot.

But anything other than a draw would have been harsh on Rangers – who have already put their European disaster behind them and remain in pole position at the top of the Scottish Premier League.