After a 4-1 comeback victory over 10-man Kilmarnock, Rangers is still right behind Celtic at the top of the tight Premiership standings, but there were many early worries for the home team at Ibrox. After 12 minutes of a hectic, incident-filled first half, captain James Tavernier scored an own goal.
Killie keeper Will Dennis then saved a penalty after defender Joe Wright was sent off for the handball. After eight more minutes at the end of the first half, Portuguese attacker Fabio Silva leveled the score as Rangers hammered the Kilmarnock penalty area.
Ben Davies, a second-half substitution, scored the first goal for the Gers in the 62nd minute. Tom Lawrence, another substitute, added a wonderful third ten minutes later, and John Souttar, a defender, headed in a fourth in added time.
With just three fixtures remaining, the Light Blues are again three points behind leaders Celtic with an inferior goal difference of five ahead of the Old Firm game at Parkhead next Saturday, although Philippe Clement’s side should not be fooled by the win over a team who played so long with 10 players.
The Light Blues have three games left and are currently three points behind leaders Celtic. They will play the Old Firm at Parkhead on Saturday, but Philippe Clement’s team shouldn’t be deceived by their victory over a team that played for a long time with ten players.
While results elsewhere assured fourth-place Killie would participate in Europe next season, Celtic put some pressure on their city rivals with a dominant 3-0 victory against Hearts at Parkhead on Saturday. Drama abounded at the beginning of the game, as there was a VAR check for a potential Rangers penalty with less than two minutes remaining after defender Corrie Ndaba was struck by a pass from Dujon Sterling inside the area. Play continued, with referee David Dickinson remaining true to his earlier ruling after being requested to see his pitchside monitor.
When the ball entered the net in the sixth minute, Gers midfielder John Lundstram’s flag was raised for an earlier offside.
After that, Matty Kennedy failed to cleanly connect with a deep cross from Liam Polworth at the far post, but the ball managed to get past Jack Butland, the keeper for the Gers, and roll over the line after hitting Tavernier.
The Gers faithful, who had first been taken aback, demanded swift justice. After 21 minutes, there was another protracted VAR review on a potential Gers spot-kick after Wright, the center back, stopped Dujon Sterling with his hand near the goal line after Silva crossed the ball.
LWhen Dickinson looked at his monitor once more, he pointed to the spot and dismissed Wright before Dennis deftly stopped Tavernier’s penalty with his right hand. The Killie rearrangement saw defender Robbie Deas replace winger Danny Armstrong. The Ayrshire team repelled a Gers attack that included eight minutes of additional time, although Silva’s 12-yard shot on Lundstram’s lofted cross was the only real threat.
For his first game since December, Davies replaced Leon Balogun, and Rangers quickly found themselves up after Sterling missed a 14-yard attempt.
Kilmarnock resisted the Light Blues’ relentless pressure until Dennis mishandled a strong drive by Lundstram. Davies was the quickest to respond, pushing the ball across the line from two yards out. Rangers continued pressing, and Mohamed Diomande struck the crossbar with a long-range attempt after striker Cyriel Dessers hesitated once more in a good shooting position. The Light Blues were given some breathing room, which they will not have at Celtic Park the following week, when Lawrence collected a pass from fellow substitute Ross McCausland, turned inside defender Lewis Mayo, and curled the ball high past Dennis. Lundstram had gone close with a curling shot from 20 yards.
Dennis had deflected a Lawrence drive into the air, and there was still time for Souttar to cover the distance.
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