Hamza Igamane and late goals from substitutes Leon Balogun and Cyriel Dessers earned Rangers a comfortable 3-0 win as Aberdeen’s winless run extended to 12 games.
Philippe Clement’s side started with purpose as they looked to maintain their strong Ibrox form and Igamane got them in front early on.
Despite having the majority of possession and chances, they did not add to the scoreline until the final hour when Balogun and Dessers put the score beyond doubt.
The Dons, who brought in new signings Alfie Dorrington and Alexander Jensen for their debuts, offered little as their woeful league form continued.
Rangers are now 13 points behind Celtic at the top of the Premiership.
Dominant Rangers give Dons another shot
The atmosphere was back to normal as a section of disgruntled fans 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 support for their manager.
Igamane should have scored in the eighth minute when he was teed up by Vaclav Cerny, but his left-footed dinke escaped the far post after darting past goalkeeper Ross Doohan.
However, moments later, after defender Sivert Nilsen allowed a shot from the Dons keeper to slip under his feet, Cerny dived to cut the ball out to midfielder Mohamed Diomande and when his drive was deflected to the unmarked Igamane, he calmly drilled the ball. from 12 yards for his seventh goal in six games.
Aberdeen’s Sivert Heltne Nilsen looks desperate as Rangers take the lead
In the 29th minute, after Diomande lost possession inside the center circle, smart Aberdeen midfielder Leighton Clarkson went for goal and Rangers keeper Liam Kelly clawed the ball back under the post before gathering.
At the other end, Doohan raced to thwart Danilo after the Brazilian forward was played too easily by Ianis Hagi.
The first half ended with the visiting keeper making a superb save from Igamane’s powerful drive into range just before Kelly grabbed a Kristers Tobers header in a rare Dons attack.
Rangers fans have sent another message to the Ibrox board
Nedim Bajrami replaced Danilo at the start of the second half and after more banners against the boards held up in the 55th minute – symbolic of Rangers’ 55th and final title win in 2021 – Hagi crossed the line with a 25 meters.
Bajram’s drive just escaped Doohan’s left-hand post as the hosts took control of the game.
Aberdeen were not attacking in the second half.
Another Rangers chance was not wasted as Cerny left-footed Doohan when he should have tried his right first.
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 felt they could grab something from the game and began to push forward in the closing stages as nerves began to creep from the stands.
Balogun glanced Cerny’s corner against the post with five minutes remaining, but in the third of seven added minutes, he rose to head in a Clinton Nsiala cross.
Dessers, on for Igamane and linked with a move away from the club, then finished with a curling shot past Doohan after a long run to seal the win.
Clement hails ‘total dominance’
Please use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Rangers boss Philippe Clement praised his side after a dominant win over Aberdeen
Rangers manager Philippe Clement said Sky Sports:
“Connecting with the fans at the end (was the nicest thing).
“It was almost complete dominance of the game. This is what we have been working on for months. We have done this at times, but not enough.
“I’m really proud of Clinton Nsiala because of all the work he’s done in recent months with the B team and in training.
“We could have scored more, we had enough chances. We were not efficient enough, we also hit the crossbar and the post.
“We knew we had to kill the opposition or they could score with a chance. But we kept pushing.”
Thelin sees a team that ‘struggles’
Please use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin said his side must improve after a disappointing performance
Aberdeen HEAD Jimmy Thelin said Sky Sports:
“We are in a challenging time. We need to raise the standards of our game.
“We have some injuries, new players coming in, 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 in Elgin), to train well.
“I can still see a team there that is fighting and running for each other. They are trying in a challenging time to give everything in the game.”
What the Sky Sports pundits said
Please use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Kris Boyd, Andrew Considine and Chris Sutton share their reaction to Rangers’ 3-0 win over Aberdeen. Everyone agreed that Rangers had complete control of the game with Aberdeen putting in a very poor performance
Chris Sutton:
“It was very routine for Rangers tonight, really they just weren’t ruthless enough and that was partly down to poor finishing and Ross Doohan had a good game in goal.
“Aberdeen never looked like scoring and that’s a conundrum for Jimmy Thelin.”
Chris Boyd:
“Aberdeen were sloppy all night and there is a passivity in their game now.
“We thought Rangers would win the game but I didn’t expect Aberdeen to be so poor.”
ex Aberdeen defender Andrew Considine:
“Rangers weren’t supposed to be brilliant tonight.
“As a team there was no energy, we didn’t go with them and they were passive.
“It’s frustrating to watch.”
