Rangers gave themselves some much-needed respite with a 3-0 cinch Premiership win over 10-man St Mirren in Paisley.
Former Gers midfielder Steven Davis began his spell as caretaker manager with an embarrassing 2-1 Europa League defeat against Aris Limassol in Cyprus on Thursday night and there was a sense of foreboding about the trip to the SMiSA stadium.
Some Rangers fans unravelled banners early in the game which read ‘heartless passionless leaderless; not fit to wear our colours’ before skipper James Tavernier scored from the spot in the 29th minute after Saints’ Ryan Strain was handed a red card by referee Nick Walsh for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity.
Attacker Abdallah Sima added a second in the 70th minute for his seventh goal of the season before Tavernier smashed in a third in the 90th minute as the Light Blues leapfrogged Stephen Robinson’s side into second place, seven points behind leaders Celtic but the prospects of a genuine title race is another thing altogether.
Rangers will appoint a new boss during the international break and the Ibrox club clearly need fresh ideas, strategy and motivation going forward.
The only radical change Davis made to the team was to give a first senior start to 17-year-old attacker Zak Lovelace – he would go off injured in the first half – with John Souttar, Jose Cifuentes and Kemar Roofe also coming into a fragile Ibrox outfit.
Defender Richard Taylor and striker Toyosi Olusanya were reinstated into the Buddies side who clearly fancied their chances but there was little between the teams in the opening exchanges.
In the 21st minute St Mirren defender Scott Tanser, who signed a new deal until 2026 on Saturday, found himself alone at the back post from a Conor McMenamin free-kick but blasted his shot over the bar.
Rangers, however, would soon take the lead.
Lovelace found space on the right and blasted the ball across goal with Strain appearing to knock it away from in-rushing Sima with his hand.
After a long VAR check, referee Walsh checked his pitch-side monitor, sent off the St Mirren player and awarded a penalty to the visitors which Tavernier converted to the ire of the home supporters.
In the 34th minute Goldson met a Borna Barisic corner with his head but Buddies keeper Zach Hemming acrobatically tipped the effort over the bar and the home side ultimately escaped.
In the 41st minute Lovelace limped off the field and was eventually taken away from the sidelines on a stretcher, after being replaced by Ross McCausland.
In added time, the 20-year-old knocked a Barisic pass down to Nico Raskin inside the St Mirren box but the midfielder’s goal-bound drive was blocked by Hemming for a corner, which came to nothing.
There was no immediate improvement from Rangers in the second half and striker Cyriel Dessers replaced the anonymous Roofe on the hour-mark, while Saints soon brought on Mikael Mandron, Alex Greive and Caolan Boyd-Munce.
Rangers doubled their lead in the 70th minute with an unusually swift break, Tavernier sending Raskin scampering through the middle with a first time pass and he squared for Sima, on loan from Brighton, to beat Hemming from close range.
St Mirren were on their way to the first league defeat of the season.
Dessers ran clean through in the 86th minute only to have his unconvincing drive saved by Hemming but there was time for Tavernier to thrash in a second from the edge of the box, after his first effort was blocked, a fine goal out of keeping with the most of the game.
Walker: Man City driven on by creating history
Kyle Walker believes Manchester City were spurred on by creating history to a fourth straight Premier League title.
A Phil Foden double and a Rodri strike saw City beat West Ham 3-1 on Sunday as they claimed a fourth consecutive Premier League crown, finishing two points above Arsenal.
In doing so, City became the first team ever to win England's top division four times in a row, and Walker feels that was one of the key motivations behind the team finishing top of the Premier League pile yet again.
When asked if creating history had driven him and his team-mates on, Walker told Sky Sports: "I think so, I think so. We went out of the Champions League, got into the FA Cup final, but to do this, make it four in a row, it made it something special.
"It has been spoken about all year what we can achieve and the history we can make. But it is about the finer details. It was down to just one game and that game was West Ham United. We get past that then we make history, but more importantly we claim the Premier League again.
"It is a very, very tough league to win. I looked at the Italian league, German league, Spanish league, the winners are 10, 15 points clear. Fair play to Arsenal and Liverpool for what they have done throughout the season, making sure they push us right to the limit."
Walker turns 34 later this month but has shown little signs of slowing down, playing an integral role again this season on his way to a sixth Premier League title of his decorated career.
Walker still feels he is capable of playing at the top level, saying: "I feel young. I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I feel young, I feel great, I still have my pace.
"I come to training every day wanting to learn. Once that goes then it is probably time to pack up, but this group of lads keeps you on your toes. They keep on you to keep improving every day."
Walker has been City's captain this season, making his 300th appearance for the club in the title-securing win over West Ham.
The defender was keen to emphasise that it has been a collective effort this term, though, explaining: "I am the man at the front and I wear the armband, but I don't put myself above anyone else. We are a team.
"There are four captains including myself, and we all pull our weight. I am just the man they've picked to wear the armband which I am very grateful for. To be able to lift the trophy in this scenario, the four in a row, it is a dream come true."
Ancelotti focused on fitness and rhythm despite Villarreal comeback against Madrid
Carlo Ancelotti was unbothered by Real Madrid's failed attempt to defend a three-goal lead against Villarreal, instead focusing on avoiding injuries and keeping their rhythm.
A double from Arda Guler, as well as goals from Joselu and Lucas Vazquez, had Madrid in control at 4-1 up away to Villarreal on Sunday.
Yet Alexander Sorloth, who pulled a goal back earlier on, managed three goals in eight minutes to salvage a 4-4 draw for the hosts against the LaLiga champions.
Despite faltering to a late comeback, Ancelotti was more than pleased with his side's efforts, ahead of the upcoming Champions League final with Borussia Dortmund on June 1 at Wembley Stadium.
"The target was not the points because we don't need them, the target was to play a good game with rhythm, intensity, avoiding injuries. Everything went perfectly," he told a post-match press conference.
"I'm not worried ahead of the Champions League final, this was an open game.
"Maybe we conceded more goals than necessary but that's okay, it doesn't change anything about what the final has to be. In attack, we played well."
Villarreal are set to finish eighth in the LaLiga table, unable to be caught by any team below and incapable of reaching seventh-placed Real Betis.
Sorloth may end with an individual award, though, after scoring his league-leading 23rd goal of the season with the fourth of his quartet of strikes.
"It was a match with a lot of goals, the kind that the fans like," Villarreal forward Gerard Moreno, who provided three assists, told Movistar.
"I'll take the reaction in the second half. We will try to go to Europe next year.
"I hope Sorloth ends up top scorer. He's a fantastic teammate. He deserves it. We're going to try to help him. He's had an incredible season."
Emotional Guardiola lauds Liverpool legend Klopp as Man City rivalry ends
An emotional Pep Guardiola offered his sincerest thanks to Jurgen Klopp for pushing Manchester City to new heights after their relentless Premier League battle with Liverpool.
Klopp's Reds are the only side to have stopped Man City from winning the top-flight title in the last seven seasons, with Liverpool taking the crown in 2019-20.
For all of the Liverpool and City rivalry, there has remained a mutual respect between Guardiola and Klopp, who faced off during their time with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund respectively as well.
Ahead of Klopp's departure from Anfield, the German labelled Guardiola as "the best manager in the world", suggesting no one else could achieve four straight titles with the City side that Guardiola managed.
After lifting a record-breaking fourth consecutive Premier League trophy following Sunday's 3-1 victory over West Ham, Guardiola was moved to tears when asked about Klopp.
"I will miss him a lot," he said as his voice wavered. "Jurgen has been a really important part of my life. He brought me to another level as a manager. We respect each other incredibly.
"I have the feeling he will be back and thank you so much for his words but he knows that behind me there is a lot that this club provides me with, otherwise alone I can't do it. I'm humble enough to understand that.
"He helps me with his team, he has been a huge competitor in my life. I didn't discover the way I can punish them like I can find for other teams. With him it has been so difficult."
City became the first team in English top-flight history to win the title in four consecutive seasons, having won the league in 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24.
The Citizens pipped Arsenal, whose win over Everton mattered for little on the final day, as Guardiola's former colleague Mikel Arteta continues to impress with the Gunners.
Guardiola referenced fellow Spaniard Arteta as he continued in his praise for Liverpool's Klopp, who enjoyed an emotional farewell at Anfield after the Reds' 2-0 victory over Wolves.
"I'm pretty sure Mikel [Arteta] will continue his legacy to drive us to another level," the Man City manager continued. I wish him all the best and hope his final game was special, he deserved it.
"He made Liverpool recognised with his stamp, and the incredible pride of being a Liverpool fan.
"It's not just about titles, there are personalities that when they arrive in one place they stay forever and Jurgen and Liverpool will be part of the level of [Bill] Shankly and [Bob] Paisley and these incredible legends."
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