Two second-half penalties from James Tavernier gave Rangers victory against 10-man Aberdeen at Ibrox.
Dons defender Andy Considine was sent-off following the foul which led to the second penalty being awarded which means the defender will miss Saturday’s game against Celtic at Pittodrie.
The victory for Steven Gerrard’s side also ends Aberdeen’s hopes of a second-place finish in the Scottish Premiership but the Dons remain three points clear of Kilmarnock in the race for third place.
Dons boss Derek McInnes made two changes from the side which won 1-0 at Kilmarnock last weekend with Michael Devlin dropping to the bench while captain Graeme Shinnie missed out altogether following his ankle injury at Rugby Park.
James Wilson came in as one of three forwards alongside Stevie May and Sam Cosgrove while Lewis Ferguson, free from suspension, took his captain’s place alongside Stephen Gleeson in central midfield.
Aberdeen started the game sluggishly as the hosts chased the victory they needed to prevent Celtic from securing an eighth league title in a row and the visitors, already stretched by a lack of wide players, lost the services of Connor McLennan when he limped off with a hamstring strain.
His departure led to another reshuffle for the Dons and Rangers took advantage as they piled the pressure on Aberdeen but Joe Lewis was equal to everything the home team could muster.
The goalkeeper denied Jermain Defoe, James Tavernier and Ryan Kent from breaking the deadlock with three fine saves, all of them coming after he had been caught in the head by a late challenge from Gers striker Defoe.
The Aberdeen goalkeeper’s efforts were in vain , however, as the home side opened the scoring three minutes into the second half after they were awarded a penalty following a Lewis Ferguson challenge on Nikola Katic.
Gers captain James Tavernier made no mistake with the spot kick, sending Lewis the wrong way to give his side the lead.
Tavernier made it 2-0 11 minutes from time when his side were awarded another penalty.
Dons defender Andy Considine was deemed to have caught Katic with a flailing arm, resulting in his dismissal for a second yellow card and Tavernier beat Lewis again to secure the points and second place in the Premiership for his side.
