Rangers put in an utterly dominant performance to blow away third-placed Hearts at Ibrox and move five points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
The Light Blues made a lightning start to proceedings as Mohamed Diomande scored his second goal in a Rangers jersey with an arrowed left-footed strike from distance.
The Ibrox side absolutely dominated the opening 20 minutes of the game with five shots on target within the first 20 minutes of the game [RangersTV] and it really did set the tone for possibly the best half of football Rangers have played this season so far.
Hearts played with a back-five and tried to make it difficult for Rangers to penetrate the box but Philippe Clement’s side were seriously at it and were getting in behind a disorganised Jambos at ease.
Oscar Cortes netted Rangers’ second after 37 minutes with a superb first time finish after good work from Dujon Sterling and Tom Lawrence.
And Cyriel Dessers rounded off the first-half with a great bit of movement to volley home from close-range as he benefitted from a fabulous John Souttar cross – it was 3-0 going on 6-0.
It was business as usual after the interval – Rangers were dominant while a downtrodden Hearts just looked sorry for themselves. After a VAR check, Dessers was awarded his second goal of the game on the 47th minute before Clement rung the changes early with the win safely in the bag.
One of those was Fabio Silva and it didn’t take too long for him to make it 5-0 with a clinical finish under Zander Clark after a brilliant bit of build-up play involving John Lundstram.
Here are your Rangers player ratings for the game:
Rangers player ratings vs Hearts
Jack Butland – 7
The Englishman may as well have got the deck chair out in the first-half because Hearts did absolutely nothing to test him between the sticks. Easy afternoon for the No1, who only had a couple of saves to make in the second-half.
James Tavernier – 7
Typical James Tavernier performance this afternoon with the captain flourishing on the right wing with the amount of control Rangers had in this game. His crossing is a danger for any team.
Connor Goldson – 7
The Englishman played his 300th game for Rangers this afternoon and quite frankly, it couldn’t have been more of a stroll for the centre-back who has served the club so well since signing in 2018.
John Souttar – 7
The former Hearts centre-back’s assist for Cyriel Dessers and Rangers’ third goal was simply sublime. Souttar was also defensively very sound although in fairness, he didn’t have much to do in that regard.
Ridvan Yilmaz – 9
Growing into a Rangers shirt game by game. Posed a constant threat with his crossing and even tested Zander Clark with a strike or two this afternoon. Defended brilliantly when he had to as well. Outstanding display.
John Lundstram – 8
Such a vital player for Rangers on and off the ball. Lundstram read the game very well this afternoon and is always on hand to make the right interceptions at the right time. Controlled the play in the middle of the park. Superb performance.
Mohamed Diomande – 7
An unbelievable start for the Ivorian midfielder as he opened the scoring with just over a minute played with a tremendous low left-footed strike from outside the box. Quietly went about his business afterwards before being subbed off.
Tom Lawrence – 8
Lawrence was the creative spark in the No10 position in place of Todd Cantwell today. Grabbed an assist for the second Rangers goal on the 37th minute and was the man alongside Lundstram that made things tick for Gers.
Dujon Sterling – 8
This guy really can play absolutely anywhere as mentioned by Barry Ferguson on Friday. His energy, running power and physicality was difficult for Hearts to handle on the right wing. Provided the spark for Oscar Cortes’ goal after winning the ball back in midfield.
Oscar Cortes – 7
The Colombian is one of those players who will get fans on the edge of their seats at Ibrox. And one thing’s for sure, the boy can finish too. He was the man that got on the end of Lawrence’s square ball and just guided the ball beautifully into the opposite corner.
Cyriel Dessers – 9
Predatory performance from the two-goal Nigerian today. Stroked home a lovely volley after a stunning John Souttar pass in the first-half – his movement for the strike was fantastic – before grabbing his brace just minutes into the second-half.
Rangers substitues
Fabio Silva – 7, Ross McCausland – 5, Nicolas Raskin – 5, Scott Wright – 4, Kemar Roofe – 4
