Rangers managed to secure a 2-2 draw against Aberdeen, delaying Celtic’s Scottish Premiership title celebrations. Ianis Hagi scored in the dying moments of the match, keeping Rangers within 15 points of Celtic with five games left.
This result means Celtic will have to wait to claim their 55th top-flight title, which would equal Rangers’ record.
Leighton Clarkson gave Aberdeen the lead in the 31st minute with a stunning free-kick that found the top left corner. Despite Liam Kelly getting a hand on it, he couldn’t keep it out. Rangers’ goalkeeper had a challenging day following his penalty heroics against Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League.
Rangers faced further setbacks when Ross McCausland received a second yellow card for a foul on Topi Keskinen. Pape Gueye then extended Aberdeen’s lead just before half-time after impressive wing play from Shayden Morris. However, Rangers showed determination after the break.
Hamza Igamane reduced the deficit by skilfully manoeuvring past defenders and scoring into the bottom corner. Kevin Nisbet thought he had secured victory for Aberdeen in the 88th minute, but his goal was disallowed by VAR due to an accidental handball.
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Aberdeen are now unbeaten in their last four home league matches against Rangers, with two wins and two draws. They will feel they could have achieved more, having generated 2.25 expected goals compared to Rangers’ 0.96. Despite this, Hagi’s late equaliser ensured Rangers left with a point.
This match marked the second consecutive game where Rangers had a player sent off. McCausland’s red card was his first in the Premiership, following another dismissal against Bilbao on Thursday. Despite these challenges, Rangers have shown resilience by scoring frequently early in second halves this season.
Currently, Rangers remain one title ahead of Celtic in their historic rivalry. However, Celtic’s imminent title win will soon level their records. This season, only Celtic have scored more goals than Rangers in the first 15 minutes of second halves.