Rangers’ 4-0 win against Aberdeen leaves them 11 points ahead

The Rangers edged Celtic 11 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership as they claimed victory over Aberdeen.

Scott Arfield’s shot went in by Shay Logan and James Tavernier took the hosts’ fourth from the penalty spot.

The victory, the 13th of the Rangers’ 15 league games, marked the Ibrox team’s best start to the season in 53 years.

Sam Cosgrove, Ryan Hedges and Matty Kennedy threatened for Aberdeen but could not avoid an 18th win and 17th clean sheet in all competitions this term for the Rangers.

Celtic, who drew at Hibernian on Saturday, have two games in hand over Rangers and are four points ahead of Aberdeen.

Kent stayed sideways to receive Tavernier’s pass and had only Joe Lewis to beat, but the Aberdeen goalkeeper made an excellent save on an early attack.

Lewis also suffocated at the feet of Joe Aribo, but the goalie was left helpless when Kent’s 35-yard effort hit Tommie Hoban and came through the post.

The visitors, without a glut of players due to injuries and Covid-19 issues, had spent the first quarter of the match largely in their own half.

But a break from Hedges drew the Rangers in and allowed the winger to release Cosgrove, whose shot was tagged by Allan McGregor. The Rangers goalkeeper also kept out an effort from Hedges after another rapid advance from the Welsh cap.

Aberdeen soon found himself two points down when Roofe took an excellent touch to control Connor Goldson’s chip forward and fire into Lewis’s desperate save.

Pittodrie’s side was undaunted and Cosgrove and Hedges combined for the latter to get away from a shot that Goldson blocked and Matty Kennedy tested McGregor with a well-hit free throw.

But whatever optimism Aberdeen took in in the second half quickly evaporated as Kent set up Arfield and the Canadian midfielder’s left foot shot knocked Logan into Lewis.

Andy Considine was later penalized for grabbing Leon Balogun to the ground and Captain Tavernier scored for the 13th time this season.

Dean Campbell was sent by Aberdeen and nearly scored an own goal in a corner, Lewis came to his rescue with the save.

And 16-year-old Ryan Duncan made his Dons debut as a backup in the later stages.

Man of the Match – Ryan Kent

What did we learn?

The Rangers’ record this season made them favorites before the game, particularly in light of Aberdeen’s selection problems, but Aberdeen had more reason than most to travel to Glasgow with optimism.

Derek McInnes’s team had drawn at Ibrox in February and had won two of their last five trips to the stadium and in the future, at least, they created problems through Cosgrove and Hedges.

Defensively, however, they struggled to cope with the Rangers’ variation of short and long passes. However, they can be considered unlucky with the deflections of two of the goals they lost.

For the Rangers, the statistics continue to impress. Sixteen goals accumulated in November to date and his immaculate defensive record at home in the league extends to an eighth game.

What did they say?

Rangers coach Steven Gerrard told Sky Sports: “Very happy. I thought we were dominant, I thought we were strong at all times. Four good goals, clean sheets and maybe I could have had a few more towards the end so I can’t ask for more from the players. , for real.

“Some of the quality was outstanding at times. We have gotten off to a very positive and strong start. We keep moving forward. It is still November. We know there is a lot of hard work to be done. We certainly will not get carried away.”

Aberdeen Coach Derek McInnes told Sky Sports: “Everything was conspiring against us, be it a couple of deflections or a soft penalty. It was a tough, tough afternoon for us after that, clearly.

“I have to applaud the players for sticking with him. This is a good Rangers team, they make you work. They put your organization to the test and I thought from box to box we were actually pretty good.”

Whats Next?

Rangers resume their Europa League campaign on Thursday at home to Benfica (20:00 GMT), which are tied on points with Ibrox at the top of Group D, before facing Falkirk in the UEFA Cup tie. Scottish League next Sunday (17:00). Aberdeen visit St Mirren in the last cup match on Saturday (17:15).