Five talking points from Ibrox as Rangers maintain the pressure on Celtic with narrow Aberdeen win

But it took a goal from substitute Kemar Roofe with nine minutes of regulation time remaining for the Scottish champions to beat Aberdeen at Ibrox on Saturday afternoon and there are concerns in the stands about how they are currently performing.

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So how are Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men looking going into the first leg of the Europa League last 16 double header against Red Star Belgrade on Thursday night? What do they have to do to get back to their best? Elsewhere, can their opponents take hope from their display? Here are five things we learned. 

MISSING SPARK

They say that good teams win when they are not playing well. But Rangers’ form in their last two Premiership outings has still been concerning for their followers despite the 1-0 victories they have recorded over St Johnstone away and Aberdeen at home.

They must rediscover their missing spark soon or they will suffer a costly, possibly fatal, slip-up in the title race. 

Allan McGregor had his quietest 90 minutes in an awfully long time on Saturday - the injury-depleted visitors did not manage a solitary shot on target during the entire encounter. 

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But Joe Lewis and his team mates defended in numbers, were well-organised at the back and successfully limited the number of scoring chances which their opponents created.

Rangers should be used to their domestic rivals sitting deep against them by now. They must do better going forward. There was, with Ryan Kent, Joe Aribo and Fashion Sakala in the starting line-up, no shortage of creative players on the park at the weekend. There can, then, be no excuses. 

RAISE THE ROOFE

Rangers fans were far from impressed when Van Bronckhorst substituted Alfredo Morelos with 12 minutes remaining and put on Roofe in his place.

The home team needed a goal to avoid dropping two points and handing Celtic the chance to forge five clear at the head of the table. So why take off their leading scorer? The decision was booed around the stadium.

However, the substitute justified his manager’s decision when he diverted the ball into the back of the net from a few yards out shortly after taking to the field following good work by Glen Kamara and James Tavernier.

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The Jamaican internationalist has started just one Premiership game this year and he was only involved from kick-off in the 3-0 defeat to Celtic at Parkhead last month because Morelos was away on international duty with Colombia. 

But he showed on Saturday that he has much to offer during the run-in; he was in exactly the right place at exactly the right time and ultimately clinched a hard-fought and important victory with his opportunistic goal.

Van Bronckhorst’s men are lacking a cutting edge in the final third at the moment. Roofe can provide it in their last eight league games.

BROWN AND OUT?

Scott Brown’s absence from the Aberdeen match day squad at the weekend was attributed to the fatigue the former Celtic and Scotland midfielder was feeling in his legs after his midweek exertions against Hearts.

His manager Jim Goodwin stated that he felt it was unwise to play the 36-year-old, who has just returned to action after recovering from a hamstring strain, and risk his captain suffering another injury and lay-off.

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He stressed he had made the decision in conjunction with the player himself and the Pittodrie club’s medical staff and insisted there was no issue.

Still, it seemed a strange call given that Aberdeen do not play again until Saturday, March 19, when they host Hibernian in the Premiership.

Brown was a member of Stephen Glass’s coaching staff as well as his skipper and doubts were cast on his future when Goodwin was appointed last month. Could his days at Aberdeen be numbered?

He will certainly have his work cut out reclaiming his first team place later this month given how well young Connor Barron performed in his position on Saturday. 

GOODWIN IMPACT

Aberdeen, beaten 2-0 by Hearts at Tynecastle on Wednesday evening, suffered their second defeat in the space of four days on Saturday and remained in 10th spot in the table as a result. There was, though, a great deal for their fans to be encouraged by.

Goodwin might still be searching for his first victory as manager. But it was obvious to everyone in the 50,010-strong crowd at the weekend that he is, slowly but surely, getting his message across.  The Pittodrie club were unfortunate not to pick up a point.

The Irishman would be helped by getting a few players back from injury. But his team do not play competitively again for another fortnight. He is looking forward to having the opportunity to work with charges on the training field at Cormack Park in the coming days.

Aberdeen may well be an improved side when they take on Hibs at home on Saturday week. They are just four points off sixth place with three games to go until the split. They can move up the table if they continue to play as well as they did against Aberdeen and offer a little more in attack.

BIRTHDAY BASH

The tifo display that Rangers supporters’ group The Union Bears organised at Ibrox was hugely impressive and a fitting way for the Glasgow giants to mark the 150th anniversary of their formation.

Huge flags of club crests, great players and legendary teams were unveiled in all four stands before kick-off and when the match got underway spectators donned the red, white and blue ponchos which had been placed on their seats. It was quite a spectacle.

Aberdeen did their best to gatecrash the festivities. But when Roofe netted it ensured the day had the perfect outcome for the partygoers. The 1-0 win drew them level with Celtic in the Premiership table.

There remains, though, much work for Rangers to do in this landmark campaign before a 56th title to be secured.