# 2023 Scottish League Cup final (December)

The 2023–24 Scottish League Cup final was an association football match that took place at Hampden Park, Glasgow on 17 December 2023. It was the culmination of the 2023–24 Scottish League Cup, the 78th season of the Scottish League Cup (known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons), a competition for the 42 teams in the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL). It was played between Rangers and Aberdeen, meeting at this stage in the competition for the seventh time.
Rangers won 1–0 through a goal by captain James Tavernier to claim the League Cup for the first time since 2011 and a record 28th time overall; Aberdeen's trophy drought since their 2014 win in the same competition continued.

## Route to the final

As both clubs participated in European competitions, they both received a bye through the 2023–24 Scottish League Cup group stage.

### Rangers

| Round | Opposition | Score |
| Second round | Greenock Morton | 2–1 (h) |
| Quarter-final | Livingston | 4–0 (h) |
| Semi-final | Heart of Midlothian | 3–1 (n) |

### Aberdeen

| Round | Opposition | Score |
| Second round | Stirling Albion | 2–1 (a) |
| Quarter-final | Ross County | 2–1 (a) |
| Semi-final | Hibernian | 1–0 (n) |

## Match
### Summary

In a match hampered by poor weather and numerous fouls, Aberdeen offered little offensively but Philippe Clement's Rangers struggled to make the breakthrough; they eventually went ahead in the 76th minute when captain James Tavernier scored after controlling a cross from Borna Barišić from the left with his right foot before firing to the right of the net. It was the only goal of the game as Rangers claimed a first Scottish League Cup since 2011. Tavernier's goal was the defender's 14th against Aberdeen (all others coming in the Scottish Premiership), tying him with Ally McCoist and Derek Johnstone as the all-time top scorer in the fixture.

### Details

| Rangers | Aberdeen |
| GK | 1 | Jack Butland |
| RB | 2 | James Tavernier (c) |
| CB | 6 | Connor Goldson |
| CB | 27 | Leon Balogun | 90+7' |
| LB | 31 | Borna Barišić | 90+7' |
| CM | 4 | John Lundstram | 40' |
| CM | 21 | Dujon Sterling |
| RW | 45 | Ross McCausland | 74' |
| AM | 13 | Todd Cantwell | 82' |
| LW | 19 | Abdallah Sima |
| FW | 9 | Cyriel Dessers | 82' |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 28 | Robby McCrorie |
| LB | 3 | Ridvan Yilmaz |
| CB | 5 | John Souttar |
| FW | 14 | Sam Lammers | | 82' |
| LW | 17 | Rabbi Matondo |
| MF | 20 | Kieran Dowell |
| RW | 23 | Scott Wright | 90+2' | 74' |
| FW | 25 | Kemar Roofe | | 82' |
| DF | 38 | Leon King |
| Manager: ||
| Philippe Clement ||
| GK | 1 | Kelle Roos |
| CB | 6 | Stefan Gartenmann |
| CB | 33 | Slobodan Rubežić | 90+7' |
| CB | 5 | Richard Jensen | 80' |
| RM | 2 | Nicky Devlin |
| CM | 10 | Leighton Clarkson | 63' |
| CM | 4 | Graeme Shinnie (c) | 88' |
| LM | 17 | Jonny Hayes | | 66' |
| AM | 7 | Jamie McGrath | 52' | 70' |
| FW | 9 | Bojan Miovski | 90+7' |
| FW | 19 | Ester Sokler | 40' | 65' |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 31 | Ross Doohan |
| MF | 8 | Connor Barron |
| FW | 11 | Duk | | 65' |
| DF | 15 | James McGarry | | 66' |
| FW | 20 | Shayden Morris | | 80' |
| MF | 21 | Dante Polvara | | 70' |
| MF | 23 | Ryan Duncan |
| DF | 27 | Angus MacDonald |
| DF | 28 | Jack Milne |
| Manager: ||
| Barry Robson ||
| Man of the Match: Dujon Sterling (Rangers) Assistant referees: Daniel McFarlane Ross Macleod Fourth official: David Munro Video assistant referee: Andrew Dallas Andrew McWilliam (assistant) | Match rules 90 minutes 30 minutes of extra time if necessary Penalty shoot-out if scores still level Nine named substitutes Maximum of five substitutions, with a sixth allowed in extra time |