Rangers maintain winning run ahead of Old Firm
Alfredo Morelos ended his Scottish Premiership scoring drought as Rangers avenged their only defeat of the season at St Mirren on Thursday (AEDT) ahead of the Old Firm derby.
Steven Gerrard's team, who won 2-0, remain 16 points clear of defending champions Celtic, who beat Dundee United 3-0 at Parkhead.
St Mirren wrecked Rangers' treble hopes when they dumped them out of the Scottish League Cup earlier this month.
But Gerrard's men remain firmly on course for Premiership glory after a 13th straight league win.
Kemar Roofe fired Rangers ahead with his 12th goal of the season in the 27th minute before Colombian forward Morelos pounced for his first domestic goal since September six minutes later.
"I thought it was really patchy but there's a lot of positives to take away," Gerrard said.
"Both number nines have scored a goal. I thought Joe Aribo and Glen Kamara were immense -- I thought they were really good -- and we've kept another clean sheet. So in the main we're happy and we move into the weekend in a good place."
Neil Lennon's Celtic, chasing a record 10th consecutive Scottish league title, appear to be back on track after a major wobble, but know they must win the Ibrox encounter with Glasgow rivals Rangers on January 2.
They warmed up for that match with a comfortable win at home.
Ismaila Soro opened his account for Celtic midway through the first half before fellow midfielder David Turnbull added a second with a drive five minutes before the interval.
French striker Odsonne Edouard scored a delightful third in the 75th minute, with the only downside for Lennon being an injury to returning defender Christopher Jullien, who was carried off on a stretcher after crashing into a post.
"We played brilliantly and created a lot of really good chances," Lennon told the BBC.
"There was good energy and quality. The atmosphere around the place is good and I was really pleased with the substitutes today as well."
The match between Livingston and Aberdeen was called off due to a frozen pitch while the game between St Johnstone and Hamilton ended goalless.
-AFP
