CHAMPIONS Rangers moved onto a club record 99 top flight points tonight with a controlled 3-0 win over Livingston at Almondvale tonight.
A first half James Tavernier penalty was added to in the second half by Ryan Kent and Ianis Hagi with Gers keeping yet another clean sheet at the other end to ensure their unbeaten run in the Scottish Premiership goes on with just one match left to play.
From the side which so memorably defeated the other half of the Old Firm 4-1 10 days ago, Jon McLaughlin was given a place in goal while Ianis Hagi came into midfield, replacing the duo of Allan McGregor and the injured Borna Barisic.
That meant it was a back five of McLaughlin in goal with captain James Tavernier, Connor Goldson, Jack Simpson and Joe Aribo – playing left full-back – in front of him.
Hagi came into midfield next to Steven Davis and Glen Kamara, while up front, Kemar Roofe and Ryan Kent supported Alfredo Morelos.
The visitors began the match on top, moving the ball at pace and keeping the ball in advanced areas of the park.
Ianis Hagi was inches away from connecting to a Morelos cutback and surely opening the scoring, but the home side somehow smuggled the ball away.
Former Ger Jason Holt brought a save out of McLaughlin at his near post following a slip in defence from Gers, while Hagi had a super effort from 25-yards slide just wide.
Aribo then came in from his left-back berth to head over a Tavernier cross under pressure, while Kent tried his luck from distance with the ball again going just wide.
Jack Fitzwater did well to prevent Hagi nodding in a Tavernier ball, before four minutes before the interval, Gers were awarded a penalty.
Wonderful interplay from Kamara and Roofe ended with Roofe putting Hagi one on one with goalkeeper Max Stryjek.
Hagi’s shot looked like it was going wide, but after getting that away, Stryjek brought him down leaving referee Don Robertson with no choice but to award the spot kick.
Up stepped Tavernier to take, and his accuracy was superb, finding the bottom left hand corner despite the goalkeeper going the right way for his 19th goal of the season – two ahead now of Alfredo Morelos in the race for the Sam English Award for top goalscorer at Monday’s Player of the Year ceremony.
Gers began the second half as they had begun the first, and with 12 minutes played, they extended their lead with a quite superb goal.
Tavernier’s chipped ball over the top broke the offside trap, with Kent and Morelos running through. It was Kent who latched onto it, and unable to get his shot away, fed Morelos who cut the ball back beautifully for Kent to notch his 13th of a super season.
Stryjek gathered well from a decent Kamara half-volley soon after, while Livi should have found themselves back in the game on 69 minutes, sub Jaze Kabia hitting the post under no pressure from 12-yards out.
Aribo tested Stryjek with a decent effort from just inside the area before Gers grabbed a third with seven minutes left.
Brilliance from Aribo on the left kept the ball alive, and he slipped it down the line for substitute Cedric Itten.
He cut into the area and fed the incoming Ianis Hagi to finish well into the bottom corner for his ninth of the season.
The comfort of the scoreline allowed boss Gerrard to hand 17 year-old Leon King a league debut, replacing Joe Aribo with five minutes left to play.
Aberdeen now stand in the way of Gers and an unbeaten league season on Saturday, with Gers set to receive the Scottish Premiership total following the final whistle.
RANGERS: McLaughlin, Tavernier, Goldson, Simpson, Aribo (King. 85), Davis, Kamara, Hagi (Stewart, 85), Roofe (Itten, 80), Kent (Wright, 84), Morelos (Defoe, 80).
SUB NOT USED: McGregor,
LIVINGSTON: Stryjek, Devlin, Fitzwater (Ambrose, 85), Guthrie, Longridge, Sibbald, Diani (McMillan, 60), Pittman, Mullin (Kabia, 60), Holt (Bartley, 60), Emmanuel-Thomas (Poplatnik, 73).
SUBS NOT USED: Maley, Lithgow, Forrest, Serrano.
REFEREE: Don Robertson