Rangers crushed Aberdeen 4-0 to put the seal on their unbeaten Scottish (*102*) title-winning marketing campaign on Saturday. Steven Gerrard’s facet had already been confirmed as champions a number of weeks in the past, however have been decided to end the season and not using a league defeat.
Aberdeen by no means threatened to spoil the celebration as Kemar Roofe scored twice for Rangers after Joe Lewis’s early personal objective.
Former Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe accomplished the demolition within the ultimate moments.
Having ended Celtic’s bid for a tenth successive Scottish title, Rangers completed with 102 factors after going unbeaten by means of your complete 38-game marketing campaign.
Rangers’ nineteenth win from 19 league video games at Ibrox this season noticed them end 25 factors away from second positioned Celtic.
“It was about having a imaginative and prescient, getting the suitable folks in the suitable locations, the suitable help from the board and combating for it,” Gerrard mentioned.
“I’m so proud of the boys and all the staff. We’ve fought every day for the last three years to get to this point.”
Thousands of Rangers followers set off blue and purple flares and waved flags as they gathered outdoors the empty stadium to have a good time.
Rangers captain James Tavernier lifted the Scottish (*102*) trophy after the ultimate whistle in a presentation ceremony on the pitch.
It was met by a barrage of fireworks because the Rangers devoted lit Glasgow up in purple, white and blue, with many climbing on the stadium gates and dancing collectively within the streets as social distancing guidelines went out of the window.
Rangers chiefs joined police in urging followers to disperse, with Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf including: “This is in the end about private accountability.
“If you will have gathered it is best to disperse, notably given yesterday’s announcement about Covid in Glasgow.”
The triumph was a sweet moment for former Liverpool and England star Gerrard, who has earned his stripes in Glasgow in his first managerial role.
‘He’s done magnificent’
Gerrard’s success has caught the eye of many in the football world.
Former Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson, who featured for Rangers in his playing days, recently saluted the way Gerrard has coped with the intense pressure of managing the Old Firm giants.
“Oh, he’s done magnificent. He really has, both on and off the field. A press interview can lose you your job in management. But Steven’s press conferences are fantastic,” Ferguson advised The Guardian.
“He’s cool, he’s composed, he offers the suitable solutions. He’s actually high as a result of it’s an artwork.”
Gerrard responded by revealing he has sought advice from Ferguson.
“I’ll let you into a little secret: I’ve had a couple of conversations with him,” Gerrard mentioned.
“Since I retired we now have parked our rivalry up and he gave me time on the cellphone to bounce a couple of issues off him, a couple of questions to do with the administration up right here at Rangers. He was implausible in these conversations.”
Ferguson, who made his name as Aberdeen boss before enjoying decades of unparallelled success at Old Trafford, couldn’t have done much better than Gerrard this season.
Rangers equalled Celtic’s clean-sheet record of 26 for a 38-game season, set in 1913-14.
The 13 league goals they conceded this term is also a record low, beating the previous benchmark for a title-winning team of 15 set by Chelsea in 2005.
The champions needed only five minutes to put Aberdeen in their place.
Ianis Hagi clipped a tidy ball out to Tavernier on the right-hand side.
Tavernier’s cross took a big deflection off Jack MacKenzie before Lewis’s attempted punch to clear flew backwards into his own net.
Rangers extended their lead after 34 minutes when Ryan Kent cut back for Roofe to slot past Lewis.
The third goal came when Tommie Hoban’s loose pass was pounced on by Hagi as he fed Roofe, who swept home his second with an expert low finish on the hour.
There was still time for Rangers to put gloss on a historic day as Greg Stewart slid in Defoe to score as Rangers ensured the party started with a bang.
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