# 2020–21 Scottish Premiership
The 2020–21 [Scottish Premiership](https://www.edgepedia.org/scottish-premiership) was the eighth season of the Scottish Premiership, the top division of Scottish football, played from 1 August 2020 to May 2021 under Covid-19 restrictions. Rangers won the title, finishing unbeaten on 102 points, 25 clear of runners-up Celtic, who had begun the season chasing a tenth consecutive championship.[1](https://spfl.co.uk/news/rangers-receive-premiership-trophy) • [2](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/scottish/rangers-scottish-premier-league-champions-celtic-b1813622.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Champions | Rangers, 102 points from 38 games (32 wins, 6 draws, 0 defeats), first title since 2010/11[1](https://spfl.co.uk/news/rangers-receive-premiership-trophy) |
| Runners-up | Celtic, 25 points behind; their run of nine consecutive titles ended[1](https://spfl.co.uk/news/rangers-receive-premiership-trophy) • [2](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/scottish/rangers-scottish-premier-league-champions-celtic-b1813622.html) |
| Title clinched | 7 March 2021, after Celtic drew 0-0 at Dundee United, leaving Rangers 20 points clear with six matches remaining[3](https://spfl.co.uk/news/rangers-are-champions) |
| Goals | Rangers scored 92 and conceded 13, a goal difference of +79[4](https://fbref.com/en/comps/40/2020-2021/2020-2021-Scottish-Premiership-Stats) |
| Defensive records | 26 clean sheets, all 19 home games won, and a new record for consecutive clean sheets at the start of a Scottish top-flight season, breaking Celtic's 114-year mark[1](https://spfl.co.uk/news/rangers-receive-premiership-trophy) • [5](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/12234447/how-rangers-won-the-scottish-premiership-12-games-that-saw-the-title-return-to-ibrox) |
| Cup winners | St Johnstone won both the League Cup and the Scottish Cup while finishing fifth in the league[6](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/57214911) |
| Relegation | Kilmarnock finished 11th and entered the relegation round[4](https://fbref.com/en/comps/40/2020-2021/2020-2021-Scottish-Premiership-Stats) |
## Season setup and Covid-19 conditions
The SPFL published the fixture list on 6 July 2020, with the season due to begin on 1 August subject to [Scottish Government](https://www.edgepedia.org/scottish-government) approval because of the pandemic.[7](https://spfl.co.uk/news/premiership-fixtures-202021) Matches were played in empty stadiums or with heavily reduced crowds for most of the campaign; the SPFL later noted that Covid restrictions had left stadiums empty for the majority of 2020/21.[8](https://spfl.co.uk/news/spfl-welcomes-back-full-houses-for-start-of-2022) Clubs offered a "virtual season ticket" as an alternative source of matchday income while social distancing prevented attendance.[9](https://spfl.co.uk/news/scottish-premiership-to-return-as-part-of-new-de)
**Early protocol breaches.** In August 2020, Celtic defender Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo traveled to Spain and failed to quarantine on his return, then played in Celtic's 1-1 draw with [Kilmarnock](https://www.edgepedia.org/kilmarnock). Eight Aberdeen players visited a bar after their opening-day loss to Rangers, with two later testing positive for Covid-19. Both clubs had their next two league matches postponed, and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon warned that the season could be suspended after further breaches.[10](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11781/12049216/celtics-boli-bolingoli-and-eight-aberdeen-players-charged-over-coronavirus-rule-breaches) In September the SPFL fined each club £30,000, of which £8,000 was payable to the SPFL Trust and the remainder suspended pending no further breach before the end of the season.[11](https://spfl.co.uk/news/aberdeen-fc-and-celtic-fc-fined-for-breaches-of-)
## Rangers' title-winning season
[Steven Gerrard](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-gerrard)'s side sealed the championship on 7 March 2021, beating St Mirren 3-0 at Ibrox the previous day while Celtic were held 0-0 by Dundee United at Tannadice, giving Rangers an unassailable 20-point lead with six matches remaining. At that stage they were unbeaten in 32 league matches, with 28 wins and 4 draws.[3](https://spfl.co.uk/news/rangers-are-champions)
The campaign closed with a 4-0 trophy-day win over Aberdeen at Ibrox on 15 May 2021, taking Rangers to 102 points, the first time a Rangers side had reached or passed 100 points in a top-flight season. They won all 19 home games and kept 26 clean sheets.[12](https://www.rangers.co.uk/article/report-champions-enjoy-trophy-day-win-over-dons/iiWZ3gznpfZtO8HlzA9ts) During the season they also broke Celtic's 114-year record for consecutive clean sheets at the start of a Scottish top-flight season.[5](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/12234447/how-rangers-won-the-scottish-premiership-12-games-that-saw-the-title-return-to-ibrox) Their defensive record was extreme: only one side scored more than one goal in a single league game against them all season.[13](https://theanalyst.com/articles/scottish-premiership-preview-202122) [Kemar Roofe](https://www.edgepedia.org/kemar-roofe) led their scoring with 14 league goals, and goalkeeper [Allan McGregor](https://www.edgepedia.org/allan-mcgregor) was named the season's SPFL Player of the Year by the club's account of the trophy day.[4](https://fbref.com/en/comps/40/2020-2021/2020-2021-Scottish-Premiership-Stats) • [12](https://www.rangers.co.uk/article/report-champions-enjoy-trophy-day-win-over-dons/iiWZ3gznpfZtO8HlzA9ts)
## Celtic's failed ten-in-a-row bid
Celtic entered the season chasing a tenth consecutive Scottish Premiership title, having won the league every year since Rangers' previous triumph and completed domestic trebles in each of the four seasons before 2020/21.[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/scottish/rangers-scottish-premier-league-champions-celtic-b1813622.html) The bid collapsed. Manager [Neil Lennon](https://www.edgepedia.org/neil-lennon) resigned in February 2021, with assistant John Kennedy taking the team for the rest of the season, and Celtic finished 25 points behind Rangers.[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/scottish/rangers-scottish-premier-league-champions-celtic-b1813622.html) • [1](https://spfl.co.uk/news/rangers-receive-premiership-trophy) The club's own annual report recorded that it relinquished all three domestic trophies in 2020/21 after securing a quadruple treble in December 2020, and that revenue fell 13.4% to £60.8m with a loss before tax of £11.5m for the year ended 30 June 2021.[14](https://www.annualreports.com/HostedData/AnnualReportArchive/c/LSE_CCP_2021.pdf) Individually, Odsonne Edouard was the division's top scorer, a Golden Boot winner for two years running, and Celtic had more different scorers than any other [Premiership](https://www.edgepedia.org/premiership) side, 21 excluding own goals.[13](https://theanalyst.com/articles/scottish-premiership-preview-202122)
## The rest of the league
St Johnstone, under first-season manager Callum Davidson and with a bottom-half budget, finished fifth to qualify for Europe and won both domestic cups, the League Cup in February and the [Scottish Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/scottish-cup), becoming the first team outside Aberdeen, Celtic, and Rangers to win a Scottish cup double.[6](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/57214911) At the other end, Kilmarnock finished 11th with 28 points from 33 listed games and moved into the relegation round.[4](https://fbref.com/en/comps/40/2020-2021/2020-2021-Scottish-Premiership-Stats) The season used the established split format: after 33 games the table divides into a top six and bottom six, each playing five further matches for a 38-game season.[15](https://spfl.co.uk/news/post-split-qa)
## References
1. [Rangers receive Premiership trophy, SPFL](https://spfl.co.uk/news/rangers-receive-premiership-trophy)
2. [Rangers crowned Scottish Premiership champions as Celtic draw, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/scottish/rangers-scottish-premier-league-champions-celtic-b1813622.html)
3. [Rangers are champions, SPFL](https://spfl.co.uk/news/rangers-are-champions)
4. [2020-2021 Scottish Premiership Stats, FBref](https://fbref.com/en/comps/40/2020-2021/2020-2021-Scottish-Premiership-Stats)
5. [How Rangers won the Scottish Premiership: 12 games that saw the title return to Ibrox, Sky Sports](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/12234447/how-rangers-won-the-scottish-premiership-12-games-that-saw-the-title-return-to-ibrox)
6. [St Johnstone: Is cup double the greatest season in Scottish football?, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/57214911)
7. [Premiership fixtures 2020/21, SPFL](https://spfl.co.uk/news/premiership-fixtures-202021)
8. [SPFL welcomes back full houses for start of 22/23, SPFL](https://spfl.co.uk/news/spfl-welcomes-back-full-houses-for-start-of-2022)
9. [Scottish Premiership to return as part of new deal with Sky Sports, SPFL](https://spfl.co.uk/news/scottish-premiership-to-return-as-part-of-new-de)
10. [Celtic's Boli Bolingoli and eight Aberdeen players charged over coronavirus rule breaches, Sky Sports](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11781/12049216/celtics-boli-bolingoli-and-eight-aberdeen-players-charged-over-coronavirus-rule-breaches)
11. [Aberdeen FC and Celtic FC fined for breaches of SPFL Covid-19 Regulations, SPFL](https://spfl.co.uk/news/aberdeen-fc-and-celtic-fc-fined-for-breaches-of-)
12. [Report: Champions Enjoy 'Trophy Day' Win Over Dons, Rangers Football Club](https://www.rangers.co.uk/article/report-champions-enjoy-trophy-day-win-over-dons/iiWZ3gznpfZtO8HlzA9ts)
13. [Rangers and Celtic Prepare For Battle: Scottish Premiership 2021-22 Preview, Opta Analyst](https://theanalyst.com/articles/scottish-premiership-preview-202122)
14. [Celtic plc Annual Report, year ended 30 June 2021](https://www.annualreports.com/HostedData/AnnualReportArchive/c/LSE_CCP_2021.pdf)
15. [Post-split Q&A, SPFL](https://spfl.co.uk/news/post-split-qa)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football competitions and records › Competitions and recurring events › Domestic leagues and league seasons › Other European domestic leagues › Scottish top-flight league seasons*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license