Rangers missed a chance to capitalize on dropped points by Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic, needing a stoppage-time penalty from James Tavernier to secure a late draw against Aberdeen.
In a preview of next month’s Viaplay Cup final, the visitors, trailing Celtic by nine points with two games in hand, aimed for a victory to narrow the gap to six points after Celtic’s draw with Motherwell on Saturday.
Struggling to cope with the hosts’ direct approach in the first half, Rangers conceded the opening goal as Ester Sokler’s flick from a long ball set up Bojan Miovski to score his 11th goal of the season. Sokler’s earlier attempt was thwarted by Jack Butland’s boot, who also denied a Jamie McGrath effort in the dynamic first half.
Miovski’s goal spurred Rangers into action, with Danilo having near-post attempts saved by Kelle Roos, and Roos making an excellent save on Leon Balogun’s close-range header.
In the final quarter of the game, Rangers increased the pressure, hitting the crossbar twice in two minutes with a spectacular Tom Lawrence strike and another close-range header from Balogun.
The long-awaited breakthrough came when Stefan Gartenmann’s shirt pull on Connor Goldson resulted in a VAR-awarded penalty. Rangers captain Tavernier calmly converted down the middle, extending manager Philippe Clement’s unbeaten start to eight games. However, the draw against ninth-placed Aberdeen leaves a sense of missed opportunity for Rangers.
