Kemar Roofe showed why Michael Beale talked up his importance to Rangers with the opening goal in a 2-0 cinch Premiership win over Ross County in Dingwall.
The Gers boss spoke on Friday about the 30-year-old striker and attacker Tom Lawrence being key to his plans this season despite nine new signings and Roofe, starting for the first time in 16 months, repaid that faith after 22 minutes with a close-range strike.
Skipper James Tavernier added a delightful second four minutes later with a clever finish which ultimately took the three points south.
The relatively stress-free victory was a boost for Beale’s side ahead of their crucial Champions League play-off game against PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday night.
The tie is sitting at 2-2 from the first leg at Ibrox and Roofe was not included in the squad for this round due to Beale’s concern about him playing three games in a week.
The former Leeds player has been troubled with injuries at Ibrox but after two substitute appearances this season, he started for the first time since April 2022, while Lawrence, out for a year with a knee injury, was on the bench.
Midfielders John Lundstram and Sam Lammers also came in while Jose Cifuentes, Ryan Jack and Abdallah Sima started among the substitutes, while midfielder Yan Dhanda replaced Kyle Turner for Malky Mackay’s side.
There was little action early on but in the 10th minute a header from Gers striker Cyriel Dessers was saved by the legs of County keeper Ross Laidlaw and the same player headed over from the resulting corner.
Rangers stepped up the pressure and from Borna Barisic’s corner from the right, Roofe shrugged off the attentions of County defender James Brown to volley in at the back post for his first goal since February.
Tavernier’s terrific counter soon afterwards came when he robbed George Harmon in midfielder and strode forward before sending the ball dipping over Laidlaw from 20 yards, his third goal in six matches this season, underlining his own influence on the Govan outfit.
The match had swung away from the home side in a matter of minutes and Laidlaw did well to claw a curling Lammers effort from distance away from the top corner just before the break.
County stormed into attack after the break.
Striker Jordan White missed a great chance by heading a Dhanda cross past the post from six yards, while unmarked.
On the hour mark Roofe and Lammers made way for Sima and Rabbi Matondo as Beale injected real pace into his attack.
The changes had the desired effect and the Ibrox side’s threat was re-established.
Laidlaw tipped a powerful Matondo drive over the bar before saving a Sima header moments later, with the home side defending the subsequent corners.
Lawrence came on for his long-awaited return along with Brazilian striker Danilo, with Dessers and Todd Cantwell going off.
Ross County had brought on Will Nightingale, Turner, Josh Reid and Eamonn Brophy but could not find a way back albeit Sima did well to take the ball off Nightingale’s head yards from the Rangers goal.
In the 84th minute Matondo missed the target with an angled-shot but there was no harm done.
Rangers will have harder days in the Highlands but they have to regroup quickly for their high-stakes trip to the Netherlands.
Motta salutes 'solid and concrete' Juventus after derby victory over Torino
Thiago Motta hailed Juventus' "solid and concrete" display on their way to victory over Torino in Derby della Mole.
The Bianconeri claimed bragging rights in the Turin derby, with goals from Timothy Weah and Kenan Yildiz sealing all three points.
Juve climbed to third place - a point behind leaders Napoli - after extending their unbeaten start in Serie A, while earning a ninth clean sheet - the most of any side in Europe's top five leagues.
And Motta paid tribute to his players for their performance levels at the end of a busy seven days.
"It's always important to play with balance, and today, we put in an excellent performance, bringing home three precious points," he said.
"I am happy both for the result and for the level of play expressed in front of our fans, who supported us a lot. We have to thank them, as well as the boys, because it was not easy.
"It was the third game of the week, we were able to manage our energy well, and we were solid and concrete for the whole 95 minutes. A well-deserved victory."
Weah became only the second American to score for Juventus against Torino after Weston McKennie in 2020.
Next up for the Bianconeri after the international break is a showdown with AC Milan at San Siro, where Weah's father George played a starring role during the 1990s.
"Today I'm happy," he said. "We have to continue like this, because when we play like tonight, we're strong.
"Now, the match against Milan awaits us. It's important, also for me and for the history of my family."
Slot believes Liverpool have 'many challenges to come' in Premier League title race
Arne Slot envisages "many challenges to come" in Liverpool's Premier League title race, despite his side moving five points clear at the top of the table with victory on Saturday.
The Reds capitalised on Manchester City's slip at Brighton by taking all three points in a 2-0 win over Aston Villa to establish breathing space at the summit.
Darwin Nunez gave the hosts the lead at Anfield as he capitalised after a quick counter, before Mohamed Salah did the same six minutes from time to secure all three points.
While Slot was pleased by the outcome, he is aware the cushion at the top does not guarantee a smooth run in their title challenge.
"It wasn't easy, like most of our games have been now," he told TNT Sport. "Aston Villa were maybe not as aggressive as we thought they would be.
"We were patient. One thing they are very good at is set-pieces. In general, we had control over the game and scored from two counter-attacks, which is maybe not what we would expect.
"If I look at the games that are ahead, they are tough. It will be a tough season in general. Margins are small, we have a margin, but it is small. [There are] many challenges to come for us."
Slot has got off to a fine start since succeeding Jurgen Klopp as manager at the start of the season, as he became just the fourth manager to win as many as nine of his first 11 Premier League games in charge, after John Gregory, Guus Hiddink, and Carlo Ancelotti.
Liverpool now have 28 points in the league. They have only previously equalled this total once after 11 games, in their title-winning season of 2019-20 (31).
Equally, no manager has ever won more points from their first 11 games in the competition than Slot. The Dutchman is not concerned by totals or margins, however, with his focus remaining on the philosophy he wants to instil at Anfield.
"As a manager, if you come into a new club, you don't think about how many points after how many games," he told BBC Match of the Day. "You think about changing the style or keeping it as it was.
"To change the style, you have to do a lot of things on the training ground and in meetings. The only thing I have thought about is how to implement the playing style, and how to make sure the players keep working as hard as they can."
FC Cincinnati 0-0 New York City FC (5-6 on pens): Ilenic sets up Hudson River derby
New York City FC will face the New York Red Bulls for a place in the Eastern Conference final after a 6-5 penalty shootout victory over FC Cincinnati.
In a shootout during which five spot-kicks were missed, Mitja Ilenic kept his cool to slam home and get NYCFC over the line after a 0-0 draw in Ohio.
Cincinnati, last season's Supporters' Shield winners, had the better of the chances at TQL Stadium, though NYCFC did have a goal disallowed midway through the second half, with Alonso Martínez having been flagged offside.
But Nick Cushing, who this week insisted he wanted to stay at NYCFC amid reported interest from Arsenal Women, saw his team get the job done in dramatic fashion.
NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese, who made a crucial save to deny Luca Orellano on the half-hour mark, looked set to be the hero until his counterpart Roman Celentano thwarted Thiago Martins.
Freese's save from Gerardo Valenzuela then sparked a remarkable streak of five straight missed penalties, with Kevin O'Toole denied by Celentano, Chidozie Awaziem and Andres Perea blazing over, and Teenage Hadebe kept out by NYCFC's shot-stopper, before Ilenic finally showed how it was done.
NYCFC will now go up against their city rivals next week, while Cincinnati must lick their wounds heading into the offseason.
Data Debrief: Away form a concern for Cushing
While New York can celebrate making the Conference semi-finals, they have now won only one of their last 15 away games in all competitions.
Indeed, NYCFC have won just five of their last 41 road matches in all competitions since the start of the 2023 season.
Their meagre 0.28 expected goals (xG), compared to Cincinnati's 1.13, across the 90 minutes showed they were largely outplayed, and Cushing will be glad next week's semi-final will take place on home turf - with NYCFC the sixth seed, whereas the Red Bulls are the seventh.
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