Lawrence Shankland's second-half penalty gave Rangers a 1-0 win at Pittodrie, their first Premiership victory of the season. The result eased the pressure on manager Derek McInnes after a difficult start to the campaign.
Rangers had crashed out of European competition to Jablonec in midweek, exiting both the Europa League and the Conference League. It meant the Ibrox side had no European football beyond August since 2017. They had also picked up only one point from their first two league games, making this a must-win fixture.
Shankland spot on for Rangers
Aberdeen had come into the game more in the second period, but then shot themselves in the foot. Lewis Mayo half-cleared but Djeidi Gassama picked it up and tried to race past Dan Happe, who at full-stretch caught the winger. Referee Matthew McDermid pointed to the spot. The official had frustrated both sets of supporters, but there could be little argument over this decision.
Shankland took the kick and, after a long delay, coolly sent Marius Muller the wrong way from the spot in the 69th minute. It was his first Premiership goal for Rangers. Both the captain's goals this season have come from the penalty spot.
Aberdeen and Nisbet fury at VAR and officials
The home fans and team had been frustrated by referee McDermid. They felt there had been too many bookings their way and a lack of consistency. They felt they should have had a penalty when Kevin Nisbet tried to get on the end of Lewis Smith's cross and felt he had been impeded by Dujon Sterling. McDermid didn't share his view.
Aberdeen then had the ball in the net in the 83rd minute. Stuart Armstrong curled in a cross. Nisbet challenged Sterling and powered in a header that Ivor Pandur saved, and he reacted to block Ayoub Mouloua's effort before Nisbet netted the rebound. Aberdeen thought they had levelled. McDermid gave the goal but VAR asked him to review it for a foul on Sterling before the first header. He went to the screen and chalked the goal off.
Kim could be one to send Rangers fans wild
There has been no shortage of investment in players since Andrew Cavenagh took over the club. Rangers paid £8.5 million to trigger Minsu Kim's release from Girona. The 20-year-old showed flashes at Pittodrie and was at the heart of a lot of their good play. Kim looks good technically and in tight situations. He had an early shot that was straight at Muller, then a couple of shots that flew wide.
He then sent Gassama away, but the winger's shot was deflected wide by Happe's block. Gassama raced at the Aberdeen defence from his own half and played in Kim, who showed a lovely bit of skill and tried to play in Shankland, but Aremu got back with a sliding challenge to keep the first half goal-less. McInnes has said his side lacks creativity, and Kim certainly looks like he could offer something of a solution on that front. He also had a free kick in the second period that was heading towards the top corner until Muller made a flying stop. He was replaced in the last 20 by Daisuke Yokota.
Rangers get over the line
It wasn't a thing of beauty but Rangers got the job done. It was all about the reaction after their exit in Czechia. They showed character to dig out the result. They might have got a bit of luck along the way, but they got there. They defended quite well and took their penalty and made the most of it. The most important thing is not the performance but the points. They need to build confidence, and this should help them ahead of Falkirk midweek.
There is still a long way to go before Rangers can be seen as genuine title contenders. McInnes will be hoping this is the first step. Aberdeen will need to pick themselves up for a trip to Celtic.
