Rangers delivered the exact response manager Derek McInnes demanded following the frustration of two dropped points at Dundee last weekend, brushing aside St Johnstone with an emphatic 4-0 victory. Despite a momentary wobble early in the second half when the visitors threatened, Rangers remained completely dominant throughout the contest to cut the gap on Celtic in the Scottish Premiership.
McInnes opted to reshape his frontline by placing Djeidi Gassama on the bench and starting two central attackers—a tactical switch that proved immediately effective in the ongoing absence of Lawrence Shankland and Youssef Chermiti. Strike partners Kevin Kelsy and Ryan Naderi led the line with authority, combining smartly for the opening strike. The Venezuelan attacker finished the match with a brace, while Naderi registered a goal and an assist. Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound, former Rangers forward Peter Lovenkrands noted that producing goals and assists will work wonders for Kelsy's confidence, while ex-midfielder Andy Halliday hailed an abundance of created chances, pointing out that Rangers should have led 4-0 in the opening half alone and were boosted by avoiding any fresh injuries.
The underlying statistics reflected Rangers' total control of the fixture, with the hosts racking up an expected goals (xG) metric of 4.57 compared to St Johnstone's 0.58. McInnes' men registered 21 shots, hit the target nine times, and fashioned eight big chances against the Saints' two. They also earned 13 corners, breaking their dead-ball drought on their 11th attempt when Kelsy capitalized on Emmanuel Fernandez's flick-on to bundle home his second goal. Halliday observed that corner and wide deliveries had suffered this season without James Tavernier taking them, stressing the importance of regaining set-piece lethality given the aerial threat posed by physical targets like Fernandez, Naderi, and Kelsy.
McInnes praised the showing as the best his squad has produced in recent weeks, providing strong momentum ahead of Wednesday night's trip to face Hearts. The fixture marks the manager's first return to Tynecastle since moving from Gorgie to Govan during the summer. McInnes acknowledged the difficulty of visiting an Edinburgh side that went unbeaten at home last season, but affirmed that his Rangers team is finding positive form, methodically collecting victories, and traveling with full belief that their scoring forwards can secure another vital result.