Football can be a funny old game at times, as the age-old saying goes and Saturday's surprise defeat at home to Motherwell was one few would've predicted.

The Steelmen recorded their first win at Ibrox since 1997 when Owen Coyle grabbed a brace against Walter Smith's men hunting a ninth league title in a row.

Philippe Clement will hope the result doesn't hinder his side's title hopes, much in the same way as it didn't derail the historic league win 17 years ago.

Rangers were far from their recent best under the Belgian, defensively they struggled with Motherwell's physical forward line but in an attacking sense, they squandered several opportunities in front of goal. It's that bluntness that can't continue if the Premiership trophy is to return to Govan in May.

One week after the 5-0 demolition of Hearts at the same venue, ironically, Rangers boasted a higher xG against Motherwell than they did against the team from Gorgie.

According to StatsBomb, Rangers recorded just one open play goal from 1.34xG against Hearts while they failed to score one open play goal from 30 attempts and an xG of 3.62 on Saturday.

If the match was to be played 100 times, the Race Chart illustrates Rangers would win the game on 89 occasions. This highlights where this game was lost for Rangers.

Speaking afterwards, Clement said:  "We had 70 percent ball possession and a lot of chances but it was a day that was the opposite from a week ago. 

"Last week, we had great quality and efficiency in our finishing. Today, it went a few centimetres away from the post or the goalkeeper made good saves. They had people on the line saving balls and then it would fall to the feet of our opponents. That’s a part of football you don’t control. You need some luck in certain circumstances. 

READ MORE: 'Players need to be better protected' - Clement on Casey tackle and Rangers defeat

"It’s our job in the next few weeks to push that luck to our side."

Luck is certainly one aspect but Clement is right in stating they need to improve the quality of finishing particularly with huge games on the horizon.

The Shot Map highlights the amount of attempts Rangers had on the opposition goal with many either blocked or saved.

With only Cyriel Dessers and Fabio Silva as No.9 options for the foreseeable, they both have to contribute more than was the case at the weekend.

Dessers failed to hit the target and had the type of performance that has frustrated many supporters this season. He may well end the campaign with upwards of 20 goals but he simply cannot be relied upon.

Silva came on the injured Ross McCausland on 35 minutes but the Portuguese's Shot Map tells of someone who also struggled in front of goal.

The best of his three opportunities came shortly after entering the field of play when Connor Goldson's lofted pass was met by the on-loan Wolves man but his tame volley was easily saved by Liam Kelly.

The PostShot xG of 0.06 tells us this was a relatively poor attempt. The fact he was just on the pitch has to be factored in, of course, but the 21-year-old will be frustrated not to beat Kelly from that range.

Kemar Roofe also missed the chance to equalise in stoppage time with a close-range attempt that was saved by Kelly. The illustration below, like Fabio Silva's opportunity, highlight it wasn't the best of strikes with a PostShot xG of just 0.14 from an initial xG of 0.24 (before Roofe made contact with the ball).

With Dessers and Silva far from prolific, it is therefore paramount that other players contribute. On Saturday, they came up against a team defending as if their lives depended on it, had a goalkeeper in inspired form and simply lacked a killer instinct in the final third.

It was a disappointing day at the office but with nine games of the league season remaining, Rangers cannot afford too many of those if they want to finish top of the pile.