Rangers got their title defence off to the best possible start with a 3-0 win against Livingston at the Ibrox. Rangers had one of the best seasons in football when they beat their old firm rivals Celtic by a 25 point margin. They went unbeaten for the whole season and surpassed the 100 point mark.
Hagi put the hosts ahead with eight minutes on the clock. They struggled to create much for the rest of the half as Livingston defended valiantly. They put the game to bed only in the 78th minute with Scott Wright scoring a spectacular goal. Kemar Roofe added a third late on thanks to a defensive mix up.
Player ratings
Rangers: McLaughlin (6), Tavernier (8), Goldson (7), Balogun (7), Bassey (6), Aribo (6), Davis (7), Hagi (7), Kamara (7), Sakala (6), Kent (7).
Subs: Lundstram (6), Wright (7), Roofe (7).
Livingston: Stryjek (6), McMillan (6), Fitzwater (6), Obileye (6), Lewis (5), Holt (6), Pitman (6), Sibbald (5), Forrest (5), Anderson (5), Penrice (5).
Subs: Devlin (5), Hamilton (5), Kabia (5).
Man of the match: James Tavernier.
Managers Reeaction
Rangers boss Steven Gerrard: “I thought it was good in large parts, and we played with a lot of control.” he said after his Rangers side beat Livingston. ”I thought from the first whistle up to going 1-0 up we were terrific, playing with real urgency and intensity that Livingston struggled with. I thought our mentality changed at 1-0, we complicated the game a bit, and everyone was taking that extra touch, slowing it down.”
Livingston boss David Martindale: “It took us 15 minutes to get to grips with their shape and what they were trying to do.” he added. ”We knew we were going to spend a lot of time in their half but we were disappointed with the opening goal as it came from a set play. I was fairly happy at halftime as we responded well and Max didn’t have another save to make.”
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