Rangers' winning run ends at Dens Park as Celtic open four-point gap
Rangers' run of seven straight wins came to an end at Dens Park, where they led Dundee 2-1 and still had to settle for a 2-2 draw. Their unbeaten run goes on, but two dropped points hurt in a tight title race.
Celtic moved clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership, the country's top division, after thrashing Hearts 7-1. That gives them a four-point lead over their closest rivals. BBC Sport reports that Celtic have spent 64.8% of their league game time in the lead this season, the most of any side. Hearts are second on that measure, with 45.4%.
Rangers have had a different kind of season. They have spent 50.8% of their game time level, the highest share in the league, which is a fancy way of saying they have drawn a lot of matches while still winning plenty. Their revival has a name attached to it. Ryan Naderi, a January signing, has been compared with Germany's Thomas Muller for his part in it, and he scored three goals in two starts for Rangers. Rangers had reached the top of the table with a 3-1 win over Kilmarnock on 10 October, with Naderi scoring either side of a Kelsy strike.
This weekend, Rangers host St Johnstone at Ibrox, and several of their players are struggling with a sickness bug. St Johnstone are a promoted side, meaning they have moved up from the second tier this season. They sit fifth.
Ibrox has not been kind to them. St Johnstone have lost seven matches in a row there. On their last visit they trailed 3-0 at half-time and scored in the second half, but still lost. Their manager, Simo Valakari, has faced Rangers three times and has yet to take a point from them.
Elsewhere, Aberdeen beat St Mirren 3-1 to climb into seventh. Kevin Nisbet has scored in four of his last five appearances for Aberdeen, and they now travel to Dundee United, who are unbeaten in four games.
Falkirk beat Hibernian 2-1 to rise to ninth, having lost only one of their last five. Much of the credit goes to Jacob Murrell, a 22-year-old summer signing from DC United in the United States. He has scored four times in his last five games, three of them in his last two.
Dundee are fourth and have not lost in three games. Their Bradley Fink, a 23-year-old on loan from Wycombe Wanderers, has scored three goals in four outings. Lyall Cameron has also found the net twice in three games.
The weekend's fixtures, all at 3pm on Saturday, are:
- Dundee United vs Aberdeen
- Falkirk vs Kilmarnock
- Rangers vs St Johnstone
- St Mirren vs Dundee
Two more league games follow on Sunday. For Rangers, the question is whether they can turn a stubborn draw into another winning run before the table gets any tighter.
