Rangers huffed and puffed in Aberdeen and were eventually rewarded with a late penalty equaliser on a frustrating day at Pittodrie.
But the Ibrox side face major questions from their own supporters after failing to capitalise on Celtic’s dropped points at home to Motherwell.
The 1-1 draw is certainly better than the alternative but Rangers’ lack of quality in front of goal and questions over the team’s mentality persist.
Here are three questions raised by the draw with Aberdeen as the Rangers squad relinquish a little bit of the goodwill they’ve built with fans over the last few weeks.
Mentality questions linger over Gers leaders
After Celtic had dropped points at home to Motherwell, against the backdrop of discontent at Parkhead, the pressure was on Rangers to deliver against Aberdeen.
Whilst there has been no quarter given or lost at the top end of the Scottish Premiership in the end this weekend, this is an opportunity missed.
And not for the first time.
Rangers were eventually hauled out a mess of their own doing by captain James Tavernier from the penalty spot but this performance was not effective enough.
The Gers didn’t play cute enough in the face of Aberdeen’s explosive start and struggled with the physicality and concentration required to win the first ball and master the second.
The club’s biggest players floundered for the Dons goal and the Rangers leaders have a big job to convince the support they have the winning mentality to deliver proper and consistent silverware.
This was not a point gained, but two points dropped, and the likes of Connor Goldson, Leon Balogun, James Tavernier, John Lundstram and Borna Barisic can either start delivering on the park when the pressure is on or start looking towards the exit.
It’s these guys the responsibility falls upon and whilst Goldson won the penalty and Tavernier scored it, really the side came up short in the northeast.
This is another time this leadership group has let Celtic off the hook and given Brendan Rodgers’ side won’t drop may points, it’s another black mark against them.
Summer business under the microscope
Rangers’ summer business has been poured over relentlessly ever since Michael Beale splashed some £21m in the summer.
Whilst some of the players have impressed in stages, at Pittodrie today, save for an early Jack Butland save, the club’s summer business was made to look amateur.
Abdallah Sima was lucky to remain on at half-time, Danilo struggled to fashion anything concrete in the game and Jose Cifuentes continues to perplex supporters.
That’s before we talk about Sam Lammers whose composure in front of goal has become the butt of a bad joke.
Boasting an incredibly poor scoring record before moving to Rangers, Lammers could’ve begun to repay some of that £3.5m fee against Aberdeen.
Rabbi Matondo put the ball on a plate for him with the score at 1-1 and somehow the Dutchman headed it right into the hands of Kelle Roos.
This was after he recklessly hammered the ball about a mile over the bar.
So long as these guys continue to flounder, then the pressure is on the club to find solutions by either shipping them out or spending on replacements.
Aberdeen dogma damages Rangers
Heading into the game, there was plenty made about Kris Boyd’s apparently controversial comments regarding Aberdeen’s approach to Rangers.
There is no debate to be had here; Aberdeen do raise their game – as an entire club – when Rangers come to town.
The Dons have tried to blow this albeit entertaining Scottish rivalry up into something that’s bigger than actually is and this has had an impact at Pittodrie.
Rangers struggle to match both the physical and emotional intensity of Aberdeen in these games, with the demands of the club and fans clearly influencing their approach on the field.
The longer that Rangers moan about Aberdeen “trying harder” against them the longer this draining dogma is going to hamper us.
Simply put; Rangers need to start approaching this game with the same intensity as Aberdeen and start putting this clearly inferior side to the sword.
Engage in the physical battle, play the dark arts, take the sting out of the game in the early stages and then dominate with our football.
There can be no more excuses about Aberdeen’s engagement against Rangers because at the very least we should be able to match their level of commitment.
Really, if we weren’t bailed out by the James Tavernier penalty, so many of this team would be in the firing line now.
