Scottish Premiership: Pressure mounts at Rangers as Aberdeen stun Celtic, Neil Critchley’s winning Hearts start and more

It was a dramatic weekend in the Scottish Premiership with the title race shaping up to be an intriguing one – so what did we learn from the latest round of games?

Is pressure mounting on Clement?

Aberdeen’s fightback against Celtic handed Rangers a perfect opportunity to narrow the gap on the top two in the Scottish Premiership.

Instead, they were found wanting in all areas as they fell to a 1-0 defeat at Kilmarnock to drop six points behind their rivals, with Dundee United only one point further back.

The game marked Philippe Clement’s first full year in charge at Ibrox, but has there been any real improvement under the Belgian? Not according to Sky Sports’ Kris Boyd.

They did not play like a team wanting to force themselves into the title race, with Kilmarnock looking far more up for the fight.

Rangers have only scored 12 goals in their eight Premiership matches, which is half of Celtic’s tally.

Derek McInnes’ Killie side have picked up nine points from five unbeaten league matches, and Clement will be looking for his players to adopt some of their determination on the pitch.

Celtic slip as Aberdeen make statement

The question was whether or not Jimmy Thelin’s Aberdeen side could compete with champions Celtic and lay down a marker in the title race.

At one stage the answer was no as Celtic looked to be delivering another slick performance, but the Dons dug in and fought back for a 2-2 draw to keep them level on points with Brendan Rodgers’ side.

Yes they rode their luck, especially in stoppage time, as Celtic pushed for a winner, but they showed togetherness and the ability to deal with pressure. Something that was more than lacking last season.

Rodgers called his players “careless” and he will be looking to avoid a repeat when they return to Champions League action against Atalanta.

Critchley changes make immediate impact

Neil Critchley’s first aim as Hearts’ new head coach was to win a game and they achieved that in style against St Mirren.

Blair Spittal and Yan Dhanda, who were yet to show their best after joining in the summer, impressed with Spittal also scoring in stoppage time.

One swallow does not make a summer, but the Hearts fans will be encouraged by the possibility of what they could achieve under Critchley.

While St Mirren have struggled defensively of late, they have failed to score in three of their nine league games and did not manage a single shot on target at Tynecastle.

Hibs defence exposed again

Sunday 27th October 11:00am


Kick off 12:00pm

It has been a dismal season so far for Hibs who now find themselves bottom of the table – below Hearts – ahead of next weekend’s Edinburgh derby, live on Sky Sports.

After going 2-1 up in the 72nd minute their confidence evaporated when Joe Newell was sent off and Dundee United took advantage to net two late goals to put more pressure on David Gray.

It is a win that takes United up to fourth and just one point behind Rangers, who albeit have a game in hand, as they continue to impress on their top-flight return.

Jim Goodwin’s side are unbeaten in three ahead of a massive test at Aberdeen in their next game.

Motherwell lack intensity as Dundee snatch win

Motherwell captain Paul McGinn is out for a “significant period” and his presence was missed as they struggled to find the form against Dundee that had secured them three wins from their last four league games.

It was a tired performance from the Steelmen with star player Lennon Miller lacking energy after his trip to Kazakhstan with Scotland U21s.

They had just three shots on target as Dundee managed to avoid another late collapse and secure their first clean sheet of the season.

It will be a performance Tony Docherty will be determined to build on if they are to have a chance of replicating their top-six finish of last season.

St Johnstone end winless run against struggling Staggies

Simo Valakari is still waiting to take his place in the St Johnstone dugout but the new manager is making changes as they ended their seven-game winless run by beating Ross County 3-0 to win at McDiarmid Park for the first time this season.

Benji Kimpioka and Adama Sidibeh both posed a real threat. The former netted twice while Sidibeh set up the first and should have added at least one of his own.

Inconsistency is proving costly for Ross County. While they impressed against Celtic without reward, they struggled and poor discipline let them down with both Eli Campbell and Charlie Telfer sent off as they were left without a win in their last four.