Just as quickly as things looked to be turning around at Rangers, things have started to go sour again.
After a 2-3 home loss last week against Hibernian, they drew on Saturday at home 0-0 with Hearts. Here are three thoughts from the match as they fell five points behind leaders Celtic, St Johnstone, and Aberdeen:
Rangers frustrated by dogged defending
Rangers might not have been at their very best, but they did have chances to score in the first half, especially. On a couple of occasions, the Light Blues worked their way into good areas only to be foiled by the Hearts defence.
John Souttar’s block, most notably, for the visitors on Josh Windass’ shot kept the match leveled before the half-time whistle, and ensured that Gers would be left frustrated throughout.
Morelos lively, but unsuccessful
As the season gets further along, we are starting to see just how important Alfredo Morelos is to his side. The Colombian striker is always popping up in dangerous positions, and that was again the case in this match.
However, he was either pushed out wide when he did get into them, or he saw his efforts foiled by players back on the line. This is a good sign for Rangers that they have found a new front man, but they also need other players to step up and carry the load along with him.
Pedestrian Rangers now five points adrift
Rangers, with the exception of the aforementioned Morelos, were largely lethargic and uninspired on Saturday, leading them to give away too perfectly good points. More worryingly, though, is that they have fallen five points back of Aberdeen.
Never mind the gap to Celtic, as it truly doesn’t matter this season. They won’t be caught barring a disaster, so Rangers must concentrate on overtaking Aberdeen. This match hasn’t helped breed much confidence that they can do that at all, as Hearts have recently fired their boss at such an early juncture in the season.
