Rangers cut Hearts’ lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership to just two points as they won a frantic game 4-2 at Ibrox on Sunday evening.
Already five points behind the Tynecastle outfit ahead of the game, and in third place following Celtic’s last-gasp 3-2 victory against Kilmarnock earlier in the day, the hosts went behind early in Glasgow after Marc Leonard seized on a slack pass from Emmanuel Fernandez to fire the visitors into a 16th-minute lead.
However, a Michael Steinwender own goal quickly restored parity just two minutes later, though Claudio Braga’s sublime header put Derek McInnes’ team back into the lead on the half-hour mark. The outstanding Youssef Chermiti smashed the home side level again five minutes before the break, and the Portuguese striker repeated the trick on 57 minutes when he connected to Andreas Skov Olsen’s pinpoint cross to bullet home Rangers’ third goal and completed his hat-trick when he finished off a breakaway in injury-time.
Here’s how The Scotsman rated the performance of each player as Rangers beat Hearts 4-2 at Ibrox.
5. John Souttar (Rangers) - 5
While Braga's header was impressive, he'll be frustrated by how easily he was beaten in the air. He struggled with the energy of the Portuguese frontman. | SNS Group Photo: SNS Group
6. Craig Halkett (Hearts) - 5
So often a reliable and experienced head in defence, he and Findlay had a rough afternoon. Won just one of his aerial duels in a frantic first-half. | SNS Group Photo: SNS Group
7. Emmanuel Fernandez (Rangers) - 5
Rangers fans will be having nightmares about his pass that led to the opening goal. He's performed well since he broke into the starting XI, but he looked unsure of himself at times this afternoon. | PA Photo: PA
8. Stuart Findlay (Hearts) - 5
One of Hearts' most important players this term, but he and his defensive partner Halkett struggled against the brute force of Rangers' forward line. | SNS Group Photo: SNS Group