Rangers survived a potential Viaplay Cup embarrassment as they came from behind against Championship side Morton at Ibrox to win 2-1 and book their place in the quarter-finals.
Michael Beale’s side – missing half a dozen regulars – found themselves a goal behind and under pressure in the 53rd minute when Ton skipper Grant Gillespie scored with a penalty following a VAR check.
The Greenock side were looking for their first win at Ibrox since 1980 but Gers striker Cyriel Dessers levelled from the spot on the hour mark, also following VAR intervention.
Substitute Danilo fired the home side ahead in the 68th minute and the afternoon became more comfortable for the Light Blues.
While going into Sunday’s last-eight draw, Rangers have to get ready for Tuesday night’s Champions League play-off first leg tie against PSV Eindhoven at Ibrox where the standard of opposition will be tougher, albeit the Light Blues can take succour from the fact they beat the Dutch side at the same stage of the tournament last season and will have their star players back.
For the first Viaplay Cup tie of the season, and with Tuesday in mind, Beale rested skipper James Tavernier, John Souttar, Todd Cantwell, Nicolas Raskin, Ryan Jack and Borna Barisic, which allowed defender Dujon Sterling to make his first start while 20-year-old Johnly Yfeko made his competitive debut.
On the European theme, the visitors had veteran defender Kirk Broadfoot, who played in the 2008 UEFA Cup final for Rangers, in their rearguard – he would have a mixed afternoon – as well as other experienced figures such as goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald and midfielder Alan Power, although boss Dougie Imrie named only four substitutes.
Amid early pressure from the home side MacDonald made saves from Gers winger Rabbi Matondo and Dessers.
In the 18th minute at the other end, Morton’s Robbie Muirhead forced Ibrox keeper Jack Butland into a fine save down at his right-hand post from a 25-yard free-kick which sparked a surge of Morton enthusiasm.
Dessers then had the ball in the Morton net but referee David Dickinson had already blown for an infringement on defender Darragh O’Connor, who minutes later cleared a shot from Matondo off the line after the pacy attacker had rounded MacDonald, who finished off the first-half with another fine save, this time from Kieran Dowell’s curling free-kick from 25 yards.
The second-half brought early drama when Dessers clashed with Broadfoot inside the Gers box to bring penalty claims from the Morton players and fans.
Play waited for the VAR check then referee Dickinson checked his pitch-side monitor and pointed to the spot, with Gillespie sending Butland the wrong way.
The mood inside Ibrox changed and as Rangers responded Leon Balogun struck the post with a drive from close range.
There was a VAR check for a possible penalty for a Broadfoot tug on Balogun as Rangers waited to bring on Ianis Hagi, Danilo and Abdallah Sima and when Dickinson pointed to the spot, Dessers levelled with a well-taken penalty.
Danilo soon made his mark by slotting in from 14 yards after turning inside O’Connor and the pressure disappeared as the home side piled forward for more goals.
MacDonald tipped a Hagi drive over the bar before Sima headed a John Lundstram cross on to the bar with MacDonald making yet another fine save from Sima’s deflected shot as Rangers controlled the final stages which included eight minutes of added time, albeit a Yfeko challenge on George Oakley inside the Gers box was timely.
Postecoglou: Spurs have a confidence problem to overcome
Ange Postecoglou says that Tottenham need to "overcome" their low confidence after suffering a 4-2 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday.
Spurs slipped to their fourth consecutive Premier League defeat, being left to bemoan their slow start as they found themselves 4-0 down by the hour mark thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Andrew Robertson, Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott.
Richarlison came off the bench to salvage some pride for Spurs, scoring one before setting up Son Heung-min for a goal on his 300th Premier League appearance.
Spurs had the opportunity to cut the gap to the top four after Aston Villa’s defeat to Brighton, but they remain seven points off a Champions League spot.
Postecoglou’s side still have a game in hand over the Villans, though he was sure that Spurs would be able to put their recent poor run behind them.
Asked if Spurs had a confidence problem, Postecoglou told Sky Sports: "Maybe in the front third there is.
"It probably is a bit of a lack of confidence, but again, that's something the guys have to work through.
"You have to find a way to overcome that because, ultimately, if you don't put pressure on the opposition in the front third after you've worked your way up there, they're going to get comfortable with their position."
Spurs have won just one of their last nine Premier League away games, failing to win any of the last five.
Despite that run extending at Anfield, Postecoglou highlighted what he thought was an improvement on their recent performances.
He continued: "Obviously a hugely disappointing outcome for us but at least we were more like ourselves today in terms of our football.
"Our last two away games at Newcastle and Chelsea, apart from the results which weren't great either, we just didn't try and play our football.
"I thought today, even in the first half, some of our football, our pressing was back to where it should be."
Roma 1-1 Juventus: Juve miss chance to close gap to second after draw with Roma
Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw at Roma on Sunday, missing the chance to close in on Milan in second place in Serie A.
Roma took the lead after 15 minutes when Romelu Lukaku found himself in the perfect position to tap in the rebound from a Bryan Cristante shot.
Bremer levelled with a header for Juventus just after the half-hour mark when Federico Chiesa picked him out inside the box from a corner.
Both sides had chances to find a winner in the final minutes, with Roma keeper Mile Svilar making a fingertip save to push Manuel Locatelli's volley over the bar.
Third-placed Juventus have 66 points, five fewer than Milan, who drew 3-3 with Genoa earlier on Sunday. Roma are fifth with 60 points.
Data Debrief: Leading from the back
Since scoring his first Serie A goal in the 2019-20 season, Bremer is the defender with the most headed goals in the Big-5 European leagues, netting 13 in total. Each of his last seven goals have been headers.
His goal was enough to earn Juventus a point today, but it means that they have drawn each of their last four in the competition - a first since February-March 2012 under Antonio Conte.
Chelsea 8-0 Bristol City: Blues rout hands Hayes perfect home send off
Guro Reiten starred as Chelsea thrashed already-relegated Bristol City 8-0 to keep their title hopes alive in the Women's Super League on Sunday.
The Norwegian scored four goals, netting the opener from the penalty spot to get Emma Hayes' last home game in charge off to the best start.
She scored the other three in the second half in just over 20 minutes, while teeing up Agnes Beever-Jones for the seventh goal with just two minutes left.
Beever-Jones got two, with Sjoeke Nusken and Niamh Charles also adding to the scoreline to eradicate the goal-difference advantage that Manchester City, who lost to Arsenal earlier on Sunday, had over them.
Chelsea move to within three points of the Citizens, with a game in hand over them, remaining in the fight to lift their fifth-consecutive league title.
Data Debrief:
Chelsea have scored eight goals in a game for the first time since December 2022 against Leicester City, a match they also won 8-0.
The Blues have scored in their last six games in the WSL, though it does not come close to their longest run of games with a goal in the competition - a run of 20 from April 2023 to February 2024.
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