Goal machine Antonio Colak helped his Rangers side sweep aside St Mirren and close the gap on Celtic with a 4-0 win ahead of their battle with Liverpool.
The cool Croat slotted home a brace as Rangers stopped Stephen Robinson's high-flying Saints for completing an early season Old Firm double. It took the on-fire marksmen just four minutes to find the net as he reacted to a stunning Borna Barisic effort that rattled the post and fell to Colak. His influence was noted again as he won a penalty at the front post which was slotted home by James Tavernier. And the league's leading scorer took his tally to double figures after he raced in on goal and slotted a classy finish with the outside of his foot. Fashion Sakala Jr ensured it was back-to-back 4-0 victories late on as some took their chance to shine ahead of Jurgen Klopp's men coming to town.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst freshened up his sides attack for the visit of Paisley Saints who came to frustrate the home side. The big surprise came with Ryan Kent being dropped to the bench as Rabbi Matondo took up the left wing slot and Sakala was given the nod on the right. The changes gave the Light Blues more energy as the two wingers, particularly Sakala, put on the burners early on and threatened the Saints with their blistering pace.
Another fine outing was on show for summer signing Ben Davies who made his third start in a row with young Leon King also getting minutes. Here is three things we learned as Rangers closed the gap back to two points:
Colak's on fire
Colak is loving life in the Scottish Premiership. He was brought back in today again and delivered an exceptional man of the match performance with two fine goals and winning the penalty for Rangers third.
It's double figures for the classy Croat who just can't stop scoring. His performance today has made a huge case for him to lead the line for the visit of Liverpool.
Kent benched
Van Bronckhorst followed up his 'needs to bring more' comments on Ryan Kent by dropping him to the bench. It was a bold move by the Rangers boss who opted for Rabbi Matondo instead.
That move seemed to work with the Welsh winger showing he can be more direct and energetic on the left. The big question now remains if Van Bronckhorst will opt to keep Kent in with the subs for the huge Champions League clash on Wednesday.
Four by four
Rangers have gotten themselves into a good habit since the International break. They've swept aside their closes chasing rivals by four goals and conceded none. An impressive Tynecastle win was followed up by another strong display at Ibrox with plenty of goals and another clean sheet.
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