Rangers 4-1 Aberdeen: Player ratings + talking points as Tottenham loanee raises roof in demolition job of dire Dons
How we rated the Rangers players in their convincing 4-1 Scottish Premiership win over Aberdeen at Ibrox
Rangers head into the international break in jubilant mood after dismantling a feeble Aberdeen side 4-1 at Ibrox to keep their Scottish Premiership title bid on track.
Goals from Tochi Chukwuani, Mikey Moore, Nicolas Raskin and James Tavernier moved the Light Blues back within three points of league leaders Hearts as they briefly climbed above Celtic, who are in action against Dundee United on Sunday, into second spot in the table.
This commanding victory not only boosted Rangers goal difference but deepened Aberdeen’s relegation fears. Boasting a superior goal difference to the Jambos, Rangers will return to league business in a fortnight’s time with an opportunity to move top of the table.
With their title rivals not in action until 24 hours after, a victory at home Dundee United could leave Danny Rohl's side in a dream position at the summit - almost unthinkable given their start to the campaign.
The stakes couldn't have been much higher for either team in Govan this evening. Rangers could ill afford to let the gap to Hearts grow any further, while Aberdeen found themselves just three points ahead of St Mirren and Kilmarnock in the battle to avoid the dreaded relegation play-off spot.
Gers boss Rohl made only one change to his starting line-up from last weekend's drab 1-0 win over St Mirren, with Thelo Aasgaard favoured over Djeidi Gassama in attack. January recruit Andreas Skov Olsen was absent due to illness but there was a return to the matchday squad for Mohamed Diomande following a recent shoulder injury.
They started purposefully and on the front-foot, dictating play inside the visitors half as Aberdeen struggled to get a foothold in the game. The opening chance of the contest fell to Youssef Chermiti who bulleted a powerful header from James Tavernier's corner narrowly wide of the target.
Aberdeen were content to sit back and soak up the pressure but there would only be so long for Stephen Robinson's men to withstand some intense pressure. Chermiti threatened again after 19 minutes when he latched onto Nicolas Raskin's raking ball over the top, but the striker could only hit the side netting rather than test the keeper.
Rangers had to remain patient and move the ball a bit quicker in their quest to unlock Aberdeen's organised five-man defensive line. They did just that and were rewarded after 35 minutes. A fantastic cross-field pass from Raskin found Tuur Rommens in space down the left-hand side. He managed to reach the by-line before cutting the ball back across for Mikey Moore, whose goal bound effort was well blocked by Liam Morrison.
However, the ball broke kindly to Tochi Chukwuani on the edge of the box and the midfielder was well placed to side-foot past stranded Dons goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov.
Rangers were relentless in their press and captain Tavernier came within a whisker of doubling their lead just four minutes later when his blistering long-range attempt fizzed inches over the crossbar. Tavernier then stung the palms of Mitov with a low shot at the back post, which the Bulgarian international did well to clear to safety.
To the relief of the travelling support, Aberdeen managed to get to half-time without further damage to the score line. They had came through a crucial period without conceding a quickfire second but they needed to find a way to gain more territory after going behind. On the odd couple of occasions they did venture forward, their final pass let them down.
Seeking a greater physical presence in attack, Robinson responded by making two changes for the second half. He introduced Toyosi Olusanya and Alexander Jensen for Kenan Bilalovic and youngster Dylan Lobban. But they were sucker-punched within two minutes of the restart.
Ryan Naderi found himself in space midway inside the Aberdeen half before laying the ball on for Tottenham loanee Moore, who took a neat first touch and coolly curled a shot into the right-hand corner under pressure.
Aberdeen appeared down and out, but they were handed an unexpected lifeline on 52 minutes when Chukwuani gifted away possession in his own half. The ball was eventually knocked on to Dennis Geiger who fired beyond Jack Butland for the Dons' first of the calendar year. Out of nowhere, Aberdeen were suddenly back in the game as the atmosphere inside Ibrox cranked up a notch.
Any prospect of an Aberdeen comeback was quickly extinguished when Tavernier won a free-kick in a threatening area after being tripped by Ante Palaversa just past the hour mark. The skipper dusted himself down to deliver a dangerous cross which cannoned off Gavin Malloy into Raskin's path and the Belgian prodded home.
Rohl made his first substitution after 70 minutes, bringing on fit-again winger Oliver Antman for some much-needed minutes in place of Aasgaard. But it was the Dons who were beginning to ask questions of their opponents.
The arrival of Topi Keskinen brought about an injection of energy in the final third and the Finland international slid a clever ball across to fellow sub Marko Lazetic who drilled an effort into the side-netting when he should've hit the target.
Rangers almost killed the game off with three minutes left to play when Antman picked out Bojan Miovski in space on the right-hand side of the box, but the former Aberdeen hitman's whipped effort was comfortably saved by Mitov at his near post. Djeidi Gassama then leathered a ferocious strike from distance that flashed just wide.
Desperate to get on the scoresheet against old club, Miovski did have the ball in the net in stoppage time following some sloppy play from the tiring visitors, but the goal was chalked off after the ball struck Connor Barron's arm in the build-up.
However, Tavernier still had time to rub further salt into the wounds of those in red when he curled a stunning free-kick from 20 yards up over the wall and into the top right-hand corner.
Here, GlasgowWorld breaks down three main talking points and how the players fared:
Title belief growing after latest win
Rangers have been playing catch-up for the entirety of the campaign, but they have now returned to a position of strength. And while it will require them to step up another level to land the Premiership title, there's a growing belief around Ibrox that they can get their hands on the silverware.
With Hearts scraping past Dundee 1-0 at Tynecastle earlier in the day, the onus is now on Celtic to deliver at Tannadice on Sunday as the games continue to be whittled down.
Moore is the darling of the Gers support
There is little the Tottenham Hotspur loanee can do wrong at present. He is fast developing into the darling of the Rangers supporters, bolstered once again by another impressive performance and a well-taken goal.
18-year-old Moore is certainly putting a strong case together for Rangers to try and lure him back to Glasgow for the start of next season, whether that be on another loan deal or a permanent one. What a piece of transfer business that would be and Rangers fans can begin dream of such an outcome.
Concerning times for dire Dons
These are undoubtedly challenging times for those of an Aberdeen persuasion. Considering the investment made, the Dons have been under-performing ever since last season's Scottish Cup triumph. And through no fault of their own, they have been sucked into the battle to avoid finishing in 11th spot.
On current form it's difficult to see where their next three points is coming from. This was backs-to-the-wall stuff from the first whistle. Robinson's men were firmly under the cosh for large swathes of this game and while they defended well at times, Rangers ran out worthy winners.
Rangers player ratings vs Aberdeen
GK - Jack Butland (6/10)
RCB - Nasser Djiga (7/10)
LCB - Emmanuel Fernandez (7/10)
CM - Nicolas Raskin (8/10)
CM - Tochi Chukwuani (7/10)
CAM - Mikey Moore (9/10)
CAM- Thelo Aasgaard (7/10)
CF - Ryan Naderi (6/10)
CF - Youssef Chermiti (6/10)
Subs used: Oliver Antman (4/10), Connor Barron (4/10), Jayden Meghoma (3/10), Djeidi Gassama (3/10), Bojan Miovski (4/10)