Rangers suffered the earliest of setbacks to their William Hill Premiership title hopes by dropping two points in a 0-0 draw against Hearts at Tynecastle.
Gers boss Philippe Clement on Friday extended his contract at Ibrox until 2028 after making nine new signings but midfielder Connor Barron was the only one making his first start for the club in the opening game of the league season.
It was a battle for most of the afternoon with both sides hitting the woodwork but neither could get the breakthrough.
It was not the start Rangers wanted in their battle to wrest the title back from Celtic and they will need to improve greatly for their Champions League first leg qualifier against Dynamo Kyiv on Tuesday, a fixture which offers no respite.
For the league season curtain raiser, new signings Yan Dhanda, James Penrice and Gerald Taylor started for the home side while Malachi Boateng, recruited on Saturday morning from Crystal Palace, was on the bench and was introduced later in the game.
There was a familiar look about the visitors and Rangers’ unconvincing pre-season meant the small band of travelling fans arrived in the Gorgie sunshine with some trepidation.
We give each player a mark out of ten for their performance in Gorgie.
5. Frankie Kent - 9
One of the signings of last season and he was a rock in the heart of the hosts' defence. Very rarely lost an aerial duel and kept things organised. | SNS Group
6. Kye Rowles - 8
Like Frankie Kent, was largely on top of Rangers' attacks and made a goal-line clearance. Yellow card for scything through Tom Lawrence was his only real ropey moment. | SNS Group
7. John Souttar - 9
Back at Tynecastle, the Rangers centre-half stepped up impressively in the absence of Connor Goldson and was unflappable. Made one big tackle on Kenneth Vargas and an excellent header from under his own bar. | SNS Group
8. Ben Davies - 7
The left-sided centre-half looked uncomfortable at times with the pace of Kenneth Vargas, but he and his defensive colleagues managed to hold firm when under pressure in the opening exchanges. | SNS Group