Skipper James Tavernier scored a late penalty double as Rangers romped to the top of the cinch Premiership with a 3-0 win over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.
Celtic had been leading the table on goals scored but their 1-1 draw at home to Kilmarnock on Saturday left the door open for the Light Blues to take command at the top for the first time since February, 2022.
Ivorian midfielder Mohamed Diomande lit up a dull first half in the 37th minute when he fired in from 25 yards for his first Gers goal since arriving in the winter transfer window.
Tavernier then dispatched penalties after 79 minutes and 87 minutes, both following VAR intervention, taking his tally for the season to 19.
With 12 fixtures remaining, Philippe Clement’s side are two points clear of their Old Firm rivals and will take the momentum of nine straight wins into next week’s game against third-placed Hearts at Ibrox.
Rangers fans travelled in great expectation for the lunchtime kick-off and again they noted that Clement had rung the changes, mostly in attack, with Borna Barisic, Oscar Cortes, Scott Wright, Diomande and Fabio Silva returning.
Craig Levein’s 10th-placed side had Dan Phillips back from injury, with Connor Smith and Ryan McGowan back.
A poor surface was always going to make passing football difficult and the ball spent a lot of time in the air in a scrappy start to the match.
Rangers had 43 attempts on goal in the 3-1 win over Ross County in midweek – 23 on target – but had yet to trouble Saints keeper Dimitar Mitov until Diomande stepped up to break the deadlock.
Another Rangers move looked to have broken down at the edge of the box with McGowan nicking the ball away from Silva.
However, it fell to Diomande and the midfielder, on loan from Danish side Nordsjaelland with the Light Blues having an obligation to buy in the summer and making his first league start, took a touch and drilled it past the diving Mitov.
Dujon Sterling, back from suspension, replaced Gers winger Wright for the start of the second half with Saints striker Benjamin Kimpioka on for David Keltjens, who had been booked in the first half, and the game opened up.
Within seconds of the restart Mitov made a fine save from Silva’s close-range drive from a Diomande cross before Sterling just failed to get enough on a cross from the hard-working Todd Cantwell, who was soon replaced by Tom Lawrence.
Rangers’ narrow lead ensured St Johnstone remained in the game but in the 65th minute Sterling had another chance when he was played in by Silva but took too long to get his shot away and was eventually crowded out.
Three minutes later striker Cyriel Dessers and winger Ross McCausland replaced Silva and Cortes as Clement looked to grab the second goal to give his side some breathing space.
When St Johnstone’s veteran defender Andy Considine fouled Sterling, although he did not point to the spot at first, referee Matt MacDermid was asked to view the pitchside monitor and he awarded the penalty and Tavernier gave Mitov no chance.
Dessers had a one-on-one with Mitov and rounded the keeper but skipper Liam Gordon shepherded the ball to safety.
The Gers substitute then headed a Tavernier cross against the bar and Lawrence’s shot struck the hand of Luke Robinson and after consulting his pitchside monitor again, referee MacDermid again pointed to the spot and this time Tavernier sent it high into the other corner for his 120th Rangers goal.
Austin FC v Sporting Kansas City: Vermes urges players to take ‘accountability’
Peter Vermes says his Sporting Kansas City players must ultimately take accountability for the side’s poor start to the season.
SKC sit 13th in the Western Conference after 13 matches in 2024, having won just two games.
Heading into a trip to Austin FC – who sit in sixth in the West – on Saturday, Kansas City are without a win in six games, and have lost four of their last five outings in MLS.
Speaking ahead of the game, Vermes said: “[Austin have] been strong defensively, they’re very clear on the way they want to play and they’re finding ways to get results. They’ve been defending well, as well.”
Asked what he could do to change the trend, Vermes replied: “There’s a lot of different things you can do. You can set expectations, maybe change training a little bit.
“There’s all kinds of things that you could do – in the end, it’s them, they’re playing, I’m not playing, they have to go do that. The only thing I have a bigger stick on is the accountability – if you’re not doing it, then somebody else will come on and do it.”
Austin have won three of their last four games, including holding out for a 1-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo at home last time out.
“Positive energy brings positive things and let me say you were crucial in that particular moment of the game to help the team win,” said sporting director Rodolfo Borrell in an open letter to Austin’s fans.
“I thought the energy coming from all of you was phenomenal. It was a special moment, and I would like to personally thank you for that. This experience will definitely stick in my memory for a long time.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Austin FC – Sebastian Driussi
Driussi has scored in consecutive games, including netting the lone goal in Austin’s win over Houston on Wednesday. Driussi has scored in two or more straight games eight times since the start of the 2022 season.
Sporting Kansas City – Daniel Salloi
Salloi’s strike against Houston on Saturday was the fifth goal scored by Sporting Kansas City from outside the box this season, the most in MLS in 2024.
MATCH PREDICTION: AUSTIN WIN
After losing only two of their first nine matches this season (W2 D5), SCK have lost three straight in MLS play. This is Sporting’s first regular-season losing streak in over a year since a run of four straight defeats in April 2023.
Austin have won five of their last eight matches (D1 L2) after opening the season winless in five games (D2 L3). Since that run began in late March, Real Salt Lake (18 points) are the only Western Conference team with more points than Austin (16).
Austin have won four of their last five meetings with SKC (L1). Austin have won all three meetings between the teams at Q2 Stadium, scoring nine goals in those games.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Austin – 45%
SKC – 27.4%
Draw – 27.6%
Elneny to leave Arsenal following eight-year stint
Mohamed Elneny has confirmed he will be leaving Arsenal after the Gunners' final game of the season.
Elneny is Arsenal's longest-serving player, having joined the Gunners from Swiss side FC Basel in January 2016.
Signed by Arsene Wenger, the Egypt international has played under three managers, having also appeared for Unai Emery and Mikel Arteta.
On Friday, the midfielder confirmed via a video on X (formerly Twitter) that his stint in north London was coming to an end.
"Gooners, I'm here today to send you a message, to say goodbye and thank you for everything you've done for me," Elneny said in a video posted on X on Friday.
"The love, the support and the kindness. I'm really going to miss you so much and you'll be in my heart forever."
Elneny has played 161 times for the Gunners, who face Everton at Emirates Stadium on Sunday. Arteta's team need to win if they are stand a chance of beating Manchester City to the Premier League trophy.
Seattle Sounders v Vancouver Whitecaps: Sartini targets immediate response
Vanni Sartini hopes a quick turnaround might help the Vancouver Whitecaps halt their skid as they visit their Cascadia Cup rivals, the Seattle Sounders, on the back of two straight losses.
Vancouver sit seventh in the Western Conference with 18 points from 12 games in 2024, though they have slipped down the standings by only taking two points from the last 12 available.
They followed up a 3-0 defeat to Los Angeles FC by going down 1-0 to the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday, playing half of that game with 10 men after Bjorn Utvik's sending-off.
The Whitecaps have little time to stew on that result before Saturday's derby clash, but Sartini hopes that could be a positive thing.
"It's really hard when you don't touch the ball at all and are down on the score, so what we did was really good – until the end everyone was running and giving 100 per cent," he said.
"I'm still a little bummed that we didn't score to make it 1-1, which we fully deserved.
"But we have time and other games, so we can immediately score points. We need to get back on the plus side on Sunday."
Seattle, meanwhile, sit 10th in the West with 13 points from 13 matches, having seen their revival halted by a 2-0 defeat at Real Salt Lake in midweek.
Boss Brian Schmetzer was left to rue basic defensive errors after that loss, saying: "In the first half, we let them out – one mistake.
"Could we have played a little bit better? Sure. We showed some glimpses in attack, and then we fell asleep. It was two plays that killed us. We have to own it."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Seattle Sounders – Raul Ruidiaz
Ruidiaz has scored eight goals in 11 career regular-season matches against the Whitecaps, one of four teams he's scored eight or more goals against in MLS.
Only three other players have scored eight or more goals against one opponent since Ruidiaz debuted in MLS in July 2018.
Vancouver Whitecaps – Levonte Johnson
Vancouver have been shut out in back-to-back games against Los Angeles and the Rapids since their 2-1 Canadian Championship win over Cavalry earlier this month.
Speedy winger Johnson scored twice in that game and will be desperate to get a chance here.
MATCH PREDICTION – SEATTLE SOUNDERS WIN
The Whitecaps have won three of their last five meetings with Seattle (one draw, one defeat) after winning just two of the previous 22, including going 15 straight without a victory prior to this run.
Seattle have managed just one win in five home matches this season (three draws, one defeat) with their six home points tied for the fewest of any Western Conference team.
However, the Whitecaps have failed to net in three straight regular-season matches for the first time since August 2020, so Seattle are favourites to claim the bragging rights.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Seattle Sounders – 50.1%
Vancouver Whitecaps – 22.3%
Draw – 27.6%
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