Hamza Igamane and late goals from substitutes Leon Balogun and Cyriel Dessers earned Rangers a comfortable 3-0 victory as Aberdeen’s winless run extended to 12 games.
Philippe Clement’s side started with intent as they looked to maintain their strong Ibrox form and Igamane fired them ahead early on.
Despite having the majority of possession and chances they didn’t add to the scoring until stoppage time when Balogun and Dessers put the result beyond doubt.
The Dons, who brought new signings Alfie Dorrington and Alexander Jensen on for their debuts, offered little as their dismal league form continued.
Rangers are now 13 points behind Celtic at the top of the Premiership.
Dominant Rangers deal Dons another blow
The atmosphere was close to normal again after a section of disgruntled supporters walked out of Sunday’s 3-1 home win over St Johnstone in protest at the board and new chief executive Patrick Stewart’s public backing of their manager.
Igamane should have scored in the eighth minute when he was put through by Vaclav Cerny but his left-footed dink escaped the far post after speeding past goalkeeper Ross Doohan.
However, moments later, after defender Sivert Nilsen allowed a throw-out from the Dons ‘keeper to go under his foot, Cerny pounced to cut the ball back to midfielder Mohamed Diomande and when his drive rebounded to unmarked Igamane, he calmly slotted the ball in from 12 yards for his seventh goal in six games.
Aberdeen’s Sivert Heltne Nilsen looks dejected after Rangers take the lead
In the 29th minute, after Diomande lost possession inside the centre circle, quick-thinking Aberdeen midfielder Leighton Clarkson went for goal and back-tracking Rangers goalkeeper Liam Kelly clawed the ball back from under the bar before gathering.
At the other end, Doohan raced out to thwart Danilo after the Brazilian attacker was too easily played in by Ianis Hagi.
The first half ended with the visiting goalkeeper producing a wonderful save from Igamane’s powerful long-distance drive just before Kelly grabbed a Kristers Tobers header in a rare Dons attack.
Rangers fans sent a message to the Ibrox board again
Nedim Bajrami replaced Danilo for the start of the second half and after more anti-board banners held up in the 55th minute – symbolic of Rangers’ 55th and last title win in 2021 – Hagi skimmed the bar with a 25-yard drive.
Bajrami’s drive just escaped Doohan’s left-hand post as the hosts kept a grip on the game.
Aberdeen were making no inroads in the second half.
Another Rangers chance came to nothing as Cerny drove a left-footed shot at Doohan when he should have attempted his effort earlier with his right.
There was another injury concern for Clement when centre-back Robin Propper limped off in the 75th minute to be replaced by Balogun.
Cyriel Dessers and Leon Balogun came off the bench to score for Rangers
The visitors sensed they could snatch something from the game and began edging forward in the closing stages as nerves began to creep down from the stands.
Balogun glanced a Cerny corner against the post with five minutes remaining but in the third of seven added minutes, he rose to nod in a Clinton Nsiala cross.
Dessers, on for Igamane and linked with a move out of the club, then finished with a curling shot past Doohan after a long run to seal the win.
Clement praises ‘full domination’
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Rangers boss Philippe Clement praised his side after a dominant victory over Aberdeen
Rangers manager Philippe Clement told Sky Sports:
“The connection with the fans at the end [was the most pleasing thing].
“It was almost full domination of the game. That’s what we’ve been working towards for months. We’ve done that in moments but not enough.
“I’m really proud of Clinton Nsiala because of all the work he’s been doing in recent months with the B team and in training.
“We could have scored more, we had enough chances. We weren’t efficient enough, we hit the bar and post as well.
“We knew we had to kill off the opponent, otherwise they can score with one chance. But we kept pushing.”
Thelin sees a team ‘fighting’
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Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin said his side have to better after a disappointing performance
Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin told Sky Sports:
“We are in a challenging time. We have to raise the standards of our own game.
“We have some injuries, new players arriving, some players who haven’t been able to rest.
“It’s a mix of everything. It’s important to look forward to [the cup game at Elgin], train well.
“I can still see a team out there that is fighting and running for each other. They’re trying in a challenging time to give everything the game.”
What the Sky Sports pundits said
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Kris Boyd, Andrew Considine and Chris Sutton share their reaction to Rangers 3-0 win over Aberdeen. All were in agreement that Rangers had full control of the game with Aberdeen showing a very poor performance
Chris Sutton:
“That was so routine for Rangers tonight, if anything they just were not ruthless enough and that was partly down to poor finishing and Ross Doohan had a decent game in goal.
“Aberdeen never looked like scoring and that’s a conundrum for Jimmy Thelin.”
Kris Boyd:
“Aberdeen were sloppy all night and there’s a passiveness to their play right now.
“We thought Rangers would win the game but I didn’t expect Aberdeen to be so poor.”
Former Aberdeen defender Andrew Considine:
“Rangers didn’t have to be brilliant tonight.
“As a team there was no energy, we didn’t go toe to toe with them and they were passive.
“It’s disappointing to watch.”
