THERE ARE STILL QUESTION MARKS OVER THE RANGERS DEFENCE

For all of the plaudits that Connor Goldson and whichever partner he is alongside from Nikola Katic or Joe Worrall have deservedly received so far this season, there is no getting away from the fact that they have lost soft goals at times.

They again lost a hugely preventable goal here from a set-piece, being caught under Niall McGinn’s admittedly fine corner delivery to allow Lewis Ferguson a run on them, with the former Hamilton man rising highest to plant a header beyond Allan McGregor.

It was all so simple, and highlighted once more the weakness at the heart of the Rangers backline.

THE RANGERS WINGERS ARE MORE EFFECTIVE ON THEIR NATURAL FLANKS, AND LACK QUALITY IN THEIR FINAL BALL

Ryan Kent and Daniel Candeias were having all sorts of joy early on, particularly Candeias, who looked to be bang in the mood. But a switch of wings midway through the first-half, possibly planned prior to the match, stemmed their influence on the game.

They were eventually switched back to their natural sides again by Steven Gerrard, but the momentum had been lost as the Aberdeen full-backs got a firmer footing on their opponents. The unfortunate injury to Andrew Considine actually helped Derek McInnes’s men to a certain extent, with substitute Max Lowe dealing with the threat of Candeais better than his teammate had.

Even when they were at their electrifying best though running with the ball, they still lacked that vital final ingredient, with their decision-making when it came to the crunch sadly lacking, and the quality of their final ball leaving an awful lot to be desired. Sadiq may have been poor, but he had very little to feed off in terms of good balls into the area.

UMAR SADIQ FAILED TO TAKE WHAT MAY BE HIS ONLY CHANCE

The fact that the only available Rangers striker was a surprise inclusion in their line-up as Steven Gerrard looked to mitigate the loss of Alfredo Morelos and Kyle Lafferty tells you everything about how far out of the picture the former Roma man has been.

To be fair to him, considering his lack of game-time, he looked sharp enough early on, when he used his considerable height to get above Scott McKenna and get a header away but could only succeed in clearing the crossbar.

He is ungainly and his style isn’t always the easiest on the eye, but while he tried to play off the shoulder of the Aberdeen defence, he looks as though he was born offside.

There is no doubt that he is a work in progress, and of the areas that his manager had previously identified he would have to work on (all of them) it is his decision-making in possession that needs the most attention. His decision to throw himself to the deck when chasing a through ball under the challenge of Lewis was the most embarrassing of the lot, earning him a booking and capping off a poor afternoon for the forward.

GARY MACKAY-STEVEN IS A PLAYER REBORN

The Aberdeen winger was his side’s biggest threat throughout, using his pace and trickery to give Jon Flanagan a torrid afternoon.

He was full of running and invention during the first half in particular, and came close to catching out Rangers goalkeeper McGregor with a miscued cross that almost crept under the bar.

That would have been fortunate, but there was nothing lucky about the way he dominated former Liverpool full-back Flanagan. He had him on toast all evening, underlining the fact in injury-time as he breezed past his man to eat up some valuable seconds.

LEWIS FERGUSON HAS A BIG FUTURE

It perhaps wasn’t the most impressive display that the young midfielder has turned in as the Aberdeen midfield struggled at times to get to grips with their Rangers counterparts, but not only did he hang in there to finally turn the tide, he once again popped up with a massive goal on the big occasion.

The former Hamilton kid has added a physicality to his undoubted talent, and his goal showcased that in all its glory as he powered above the Rangers defence to head home the winner.

On all available evidence to date, this kid could go far.