Rangers came from behind twice to beat William Hill Premiership leaders Hearts 4-2 at Ibrox this evening and blow the Scottish title race wide open thanks to a hat-trick from their much-maligned £9m striker Youssef Chermiti.
Danny Rohl’s side went into the meeting with Derek McInnes’s team, who were five points ahead of them at the top of the league table, needing to win to remain in touch with the capital club.
They allowed Marc Leonard to give their opponents an early lead but fought back to level through a Michael Steinwender own goal. Claudio Braga put the visitors in front once again only for Chermiti to equalise before half-time.
The former Everton man added two more in the second half to help Rangers leapfrog their city rivals Celtic, who have a game in hand, and move to within two points of Hearts with 11 matches remaining.
Here are five talking points from a six goal thriller.
Rash Raskin
Rohl had been heavily criticised for his starting line-up against Motherwell at Fir Park in midweek. But he had half an eye on the Hearts game and it showed in his team selection.
James Tavernier, Jayden Meghoma, Djeidi Gassama and Mohamed Diomande all dropped out and Djuon Sterling, Emmanuel Fernandez, Tuur Rommens, Andreas Skov Olsen and Ryan Naderi came in. John Souttar donned the captain’s armband.
Chermiti and Naderi led the line in an offensive formation as their manager switched from a 4-2-3-1 set-up to a 4-4-2. Would there be an improvement on their Wednesday night display?
When Nico Raskin gifted the visitors the opener in the 16th minute their supporters feared the worst. The Belgian midfielder turned his back to the ball when Emmanuel Fernandez played a pass to him in his own half and that allowed Leonard to pinch possession.
The Birmingham City loanee advanced upfield unchallenged, fed Claudio Braga outside him and then received the ball back from his team mate. His controlled, composed finish gave Jack Butland no chance. It was quite a way for the Scottish midfielder to open his account for Hearts. But what was his opponent thinking?
Steinwender sinner and saint
The away’s team’s lead only lasted a few winners. Rangers responded immediately, and were unfortunate not to equalise when first Chermiti had a header saved by Alex Schwolow and then Mikey Moore struck the crossbar. But Steinwender netted for them.
The Austrian, who had replaced Oisin McEntee when his fellow centre-half suffered a shoulder injury, sliced an attempted clearance high into his own goal under pressure from Naderi.
The defender redeemed himself on the half hour mark, though, when he set up Braga for Hearts’ second. He floated a perfectly weight cross into thee home side’s penalty area and the Portuguese forward did superbly to get his head to it and find the bottom right corner.
It is a goal that Souttar will not enjoying watching back. He should never have allowed the lone striker to meet the delivery. It was proving to be an afternoon of defensive lapses. There was one more before the half-time whistle blew.
Chermiti delivers
Chermiti has frustrated more than delighted Rangers fans since his £9m move from Everton last summer. He could not, however, be faulted for his finish six minutes before the break. He received the ball from Moore, saw a square pass blocked by Craig Halkett and then buried an attempt beyond Schwolow.
He put Rohl’s men 3-2 ahead in the 57th minute when he got in front of Beni Baningime at the near post, leapt high above his marker and headed an Olsen chip home. He dropped to his knees and kissed the turf in celebration as the crowd went wild. The 21-year-old found the target again in the final minute.
The Portuguese forward, who took his tally for the 2025/26 campaign to seven, failed to build on his double against Celtic at Parkhead at the start of last month. But this hat-trick will do his confidence the world of good.
Could he become a big game player for the Glasgow club? Every match will be a cup final for them in the run-in and it will increase their chances of landing silverware if their big money acquisition starts to justify the substantial outlay which it took to secure their services.
Hearts setback
McInnes did not mess about at half-time. He removed Hearts record signing Eduardo Ageu, who had done little other than pick up a needless yellow card for a foul on Raskin early on, and Islam Chesnokov, who had also been anonymous, and put on Jordi Altena and Pierre Landry Kabore respectively.
But the replacements, and a change from a 4-2-3-1 formation to a 3-4-3, failed to have the desired impact. They failed, other than a late Harry Milne shot, to seriously test Butland and were fortunate to only concede two more in the second 45 minutes as the hosts dominated possession.
This is by no means game over for Hearts. It is the first time they have lost to either Celtic or Rangers since March last year, in six games against the big Glasgow two. But this outing showed the Govan outfit are very much title contenders.
Rangers revival
There was much for Rohl to take heart from today. His charges came from behind twice to win a huge match and showed they have the mentality as well as the ability to deal with the pressure of the run-in. Rangers, who were 13 points behind when the German took over in October, have now gone 13 games undefeated domestically.
The fact that the former Sheffield Wednesday manager could afford to leave Tavernier, Diomande and Bojan Miovski on the bench shows he has the strength in depth he needs to negotiate the coming weeks.
This encounter, which was broadcast live by Sky Sports, was a fantastic advertisement for Scottish football. The 51,092-strong crowd, as well as armchair viewers at home, was royally entertained. The remaining games of the season promise to make for compelling viewing.
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