Rangers have fallen nine points behind Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership before November after Philippe Clement's side fell to a 2-1 defeat at Pittodrie.
Nedim Bajrami's fantastic individual strike had cancelled out a first-half Nicky Devlin strike in a half the hosts dominated. However, Shayden Morris' strike 20 minutes from time kepy up Jimmy Thelin's impressive start to life in Glasgow.
Chris Jack provides the Rangers Review's instant analysis from the North East.
Another title challenge over
Clement stated on Sunday that he believed Aberdeen could be potential challengers for the Premiership this term. Thelin has naturally and rightly refused to get involved in such talk. His endeavours have allowed supporters here to dare to dream, though, and there was only one set of fans who had the silverware in mind at full-time. Any visit of Rangers is always eagerly anticipated but this one saw levels taken up a notch. A pre-match pyro show at one end of Pittodrie and flag and banner display at the other ramped up the atmosphere. The scenes at the end told their own story. The home crowd knew how significant a statement Thelin’s side had made here. In the away end, the Rangers fans headed for home with even more questions and concerns about where the club is and where it is heading. The chances of a title challenge always looked slim this term. Just ten games in, they can be written off. This team simply does not have what it takes to be champions. The fight for second is the one that Rangers are embroiled in now. It remains to be seen how long Aberdeen can maintain this run of form. In all likelihood, they will not be able to sustain a challenge to Celtic. Even at this early stage, they have given themselves a useful cushion over Rangers. Time will tell if that gap can be clawed back or not.
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Same old same old in the final third
Clement bristled at the suggestion that his side play too many long balls when he was quizzed last week. The same allegation could be made here. Whatever the plan was, it wasn’t working. Whatever the plan is, it hasn’t worked for some time. Rangers carried virtually no threat in a first half that was devoid of structure and creativity. Cyriel Dessers could not hold the ball up to allow Rangers to advance up the pitch and those around him were largely anonymous. When Ross McCausland scored on the stroke of half-time, an offside check chopped the goal off. When Rangers did get into the final third, a series of aimless crosses from wide were never going to trouble Aberdeen. McCausland and Bajrami operated on the fringes. Between them, Tom Lawrence never got involved in an attacking sense as the half passed him by. McCausland didn’t reappear at the interval as Dujon Sterling was introduced. It was from the other flank where Rangers got their moment of inspiration. Bajrami cut in from the left with a jinking run and a strike across Dimitar Mitov found the far corner of the net. Rangers deserved to be level after starting the second period with more conviction. They couldn’t kick-on from there, though. Once Aberdeen regained the lead, there was no way back for a side that had run out of ideas.
Further team selection questions
Clement gave no indication on Tuesday afternoon that there would be no place for Vaclav Cerny in the squad for the trip north. He did, though, state that he was unsure if John Souttar and Lawrence would be able to play the full 90 minutes. It was a surprise, therefore, that Cerny missed out all together – due to what Clement described as a ‘small’ injury - and that Souttar and Lawrence were named from the start. The biggest shock and the biggest call saw Jefte drop out of the line-up. The Brazilian has been an impressive and consistent performer of late and seemed assured of his place here. His absence was put down to fitness and fatigue but the justification will be questioned by supporters. Clement opted to field Neraysho Kasanwirjo at left-back rather than alongside Leon Balogun as Robin Propper paid the price for his erratic showing against St Mirren. Those selection decisions sparked plenty of debate when the team lines were announced just over an hour before kick-off. They are calls that will come into the wider Clement debate.
Pressure is heaped on struggling Clement
The soundbites about this fixture being a big game, in the same way that every game is a big game, and why it was a must win, in the same way that Rangers want to win every fixture, were prevalent pre-match. Clement and his players had to acknowledge, though, that this 90 minutes resonated far more than a usual Premiership outing. The Belgian needed a performance, but he needed a result even more so. As anger and apathy levels have risen amongst a furious fan base in recent weeks, the pressure has mounted on Clement. Talk of progress and the future means little when Rangers have as many problems on and off the pitch to contend with at present. Clement may not be the only issue, but his position will continue to spark debate unless fortunes improve considerably. The Belgian may well be fighting a losing battle in the eyes of the some. Until the boardroom situation is resolved, the dugout one cannot be addressed.
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