Rangers beat Hearts for the third time in six weeks with a first-half goal from Abdallah Sima at Tynecastle.
After a cinch Premiership defeat at Ibrox and a loss against the Light Blues in the Viaplay Cup semi-final at Hampden Park, Steven Naismith’s side again came up short against Rangers.
Having scored twice in the 2-0 home win over St Mirren on Sunday, Brighton loanee Sima struck again in the 34th minute to take the three points back to Govan.
With Celtic beating Hibernian 4-1 at Parkhead, Rangers are still eight points behind the leaders having played a game less with Philippe Clement extending his unbeaten run since taking over as boss to 11 matches.
The third-placed Jambos went into the game with four straight home league wins for the first time for five years but will have to start another run.
There was a familiar name on the Hearts bench as former Scotland number one Craig Gordon returned after almost a year having recovered from breaking his leg against Dundee United on Christmas Eve.
The 40-year-old instantly put pressure on the club’s other Scotland keeper Zander Clark, who also has hopes of making Euro 2024 and he had a mixed evening.
Craig Halkett and Barrie McKay also returned from lengthy spells out while Nathaniel Atkinson and Kyosuke Tagawa were reinstated to the starting line-up as Yutaro Oda and Liam Boyce dropped out altogether.
For the visitors left-back Ridvan Yilmaz took over from Borna Barisic, missing altogether, with Brazilian striker Danilo in for Cyriel Dessers.
In the 11th minute Hearts skipper Lawrence Shankland blasted a shot over the bar on the break after Yilmaz had carelessly lost possession leaving the Rangers rearguard exposed.
Rangers midfielder Tom Lawrence limped off in the 17th minute to be replaced by Jose Cifuentes.
In the 25th minute, as Hearts drove their way into the Rangers box, Shankland’s shot from 12 yards was parried by keeper Jack Butland with Alex Cochrane’s shot from the rebound blocked by the body of James Tavernier.
Danilo had the ball in the Hearts net from eight yards just before the half-hour mark but was offside.
However, when Tavernier broke out of defence and split the Jambos backline with a well-weighted pass, Sima sped clear and when Clark rushed out from his goal, he slipped the ball past him for his 12th goal of the season.
Minutes later, Todd Cantwell lobbed the ball just over the bar from close range and then Clark stuck his foot out to deny Danilo from just a few yards.
Atkinson and Jorge Grant were replaced by Oda and Kenneth Vargas at the start of the second half but it was Rangers who reasserted.
In the 51st minute Tavernier’s curling free-kick into the Hearts box was dropped by Clark but Danilo’s shot was blocked by Tagawa and the home side escaped again, as they did minutes later when Yilmaz’s angled-drive flew wide of the far post.
Clark parried a long-distance drive from John Lundstram and Yilmaz fired the rebound high over the bar, before Kemar Roofe and Dujon Sterling took over from Danilo and Yilmaz.
Just before that, Butland made a fantastic save from Vargas’ powerful left-footed drive, which raised Jambo hopes.
In the 79th minute Clark made a fine stop with his foot after Sima had been set up by Roofe but the offside flag was up.
Rangers had to do some stout defending in the closing stages as Hearts went all out but they kept the door closed to keep on Celtic’s coat tails.
Injured Ederson replaced in expanded Brazil Copa America squad
Brazil coach Dorival Junior has replaced the injured Ederson for the Copa America and called three more players up to an expanded squad.
South American governing body CONMEBOL announced that teams can now name a 26-man squad, up from the original 23 allowed at the tournament.
Dorival Junior has called upon Juventus defender Bremer, Atalanta midfielder Ederson and Porto forward Pepe as the extra players for his team.
Manchester City's Ederson will not be fit to play at the Copa America, so Sao Paolo's Rafael has been called up in his place.
The goalkeeper suffered a small fracture on his eye socket in a heavy collision with Cristian Romero against Tottenham and missed the end of their league season.
Brazil’s original 23-man squad, announced earlier this month, did not include Casemiro, Richarlison or Gabriel Jesus, though 17-year-old prodigy Endrick was included.
Selecao are nine-time winners of the Copa America and will kick off their campaign against Costa Rica in Group D on June 24.
Outgoing Brighton boss De Zerbi not walking into new job
Roberto De Zerbi insisted he does not have another job lined up after overseeing his final game as Brighton and Hove Albion boss on Sunday.
One day after surprisingly announcing De Zerbi's departure, Brighton ended their Premier League campaign with a 2-0 home loss to Manchester United.
That meant they slipped below rivals Crystal Palace to finish 11th in the table, their first bottom-half placing since finishing 16th in 2020-21.
De Zerbi has been linked with several big clubs since leading Brighton to European qualification last season, with Bayern Munich, Milan and Napoli touted as possible landing spots for the former Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk coach.
However, De Zerbi says he has not reached an agreement with any other club, telling reporters: "There isn't any club – no-one offered me anything. At the moment, nothing.
"I hope to work in the Premier League again. I don't know where or when, but it was an honour to work in the Premier League."
Sunday's defeat was De Zerbi's 70th Premier League game in charge of Brighton, with his top-flight win percentage of 37 per cent (26/70) the highest of any boss in the Seagulls' history.
Battling a lengthy injury list for much of 2023-24, Brighton made a total of 143 changes to their starting lineup throughout the course of the campaign, with only Manchester City in 2019-20 (144) ever making more in a single Premier League season.
Asked by BBC Match of the Day if there was a particular reason for his exit, the Italian added: "We didn't find the agreement to move on. I want to keep my way.
"I know very well what I want to do and I know I am a coach and I have to accept the policies of the club.
"They gave me an incredible chance. They gave me the possibility to know incredible people, to play and to work in the Premier League, to play in the Europa League. They gave me the opportunity to know this club, this city, these fans and that I cannot forget."
Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna and Nice coach Francesco Farioli have both been tipped as possible contenders to replace De Zerbi, with Brighton having a reputation for excellent succession planning under owner Tony Bloom.
Asked about the search for a replacement on Sunday, Bloom said: "We always try and have a plan. We have got a plan. We now need to execute that plan."
Mateta 'finishing everything that comes to him' as Palace rout Villa
Jean-Philippe Mateta is "finishing everything that comes to him", according to his Crystal Palace team-mate Eberechi Eze.
Palace thumped fourth-placed Aston Villa 5-0 at home on the last day of the Premier League season to seal an unlikely top-10 finish, with Mateta scoring a hat-trick and Eze adding two goals of his own.
They ended the season with a seven-match unbeaten run under Oliver Glasner, who made a huge impact after replacing Roy Hodgson in February.
Mateta has been a huge beneficiary, as since Glasner's first game in charge on February 24, he has scored 13 Premier League goals, which is more than any other player in the competition.
He ended the campaign with 16 top-flight goals, putting him level with the likes of Bukayo Saka and Jarrod Bowen in the scoring charts. Only Andrew Johnson has netted more for the Eagles across a single campaign in the competition, when he netted 21 in 2004-05.
"He is what I'm playing for," Eze said about Mateta, per Palace's official website.
"He is finishing everything that comes to him, which makes our life a lot easier when I'm playing for him, so it's good.
"I did come close [to a hat-trick myself], but the most important thing is putting in good performances. We're all going to flourish, we're all going to have games where we score.
"We're preparing the work and we're doing the work before we go on to the pitch, so we're enjoying it, that's the main thing."
The match also saw Mateta become just the second Frenchman to score in seven home Premier League home appearances in a row, after Thierry Henry for Arsenal between May and October 2004.
Eze has also finished the season with a flourish, ending the campaign with 11 goals and four assists.
Mateta is among those who have called for him to earn a place in the England squad for Euro 2024.
"Of course it's an honour [to play for your country]," said Eze. "It would be a great experience.
"I think it is a dream for any player to play in any big tournament. But the main thing, I'm being realistic. It is what it is: if I get a call, I get a call.
"But the main thing is doing what I need to do for my club, and that's the performance."
Villa are the first side to concede five or more goals in their first and final matches of a top-flight season since Manchester City in 1962-63, having been beaten 5-1 at Newcastle on the opening weekend.
But they were magnificent in between those two losses, enjoying a campaign to remember as they qualified for the Champions League, confounding pre-season expectations.
"Thank you to our supporters because even today they were with us," said Villa boss Unai Emery after Sunday's loss.
"We achieved our objective on Tuesday [when UCL qualification was confirmed] and we did everything we could with our supporters in Villa Park on Monday [in the 3-3 draw with Liverpool].
"They were travelling here to be with us, supporting us so we are disappointed with the result, but we have to accept it.
"We have to be happy and share with our supporters the whole season, not just today. Every match is very important and we lost, but we’d achieved our target.
"We have to accept it and keep going forward. Now it’s time to rest and try to follow our players with their national teams and prepare as best as possible the next season.
"We have to enjoy the season we did and we’re very excited for the next season, but we have to take our time now."
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