Rangers saw off Aberdeen at Ibrox comfortably enough in the end to bring them back within 13 points of Celtic at the top of the Premiership, as Jimmy Thelin’s early season high-flyers clocked up their 12th match on the spin without a win.

Hamza Igamane took advantage of slack play from the Dons to fire home the opener, and it seemed at that stage that Philippe Clement’s men would run away with it against the shellshocked visitors.

They made a bit of a slog of it in the end, and now have an injury sweat over Robin Propper, but his replacement Leon Balogun made sure of they got the win they more than deserved over the piece with a stoppage time header, before substitute Cyriel Dessers added the gloss with a third on the counter at the death.

Here are the talking points from Ibrox…

Protests continue, but fans stay with team this time

After the rancour of the weekend and the walkout from the Union Bears and the Rangers Supporters Association, Ibrox seemed more united for the visit of the Dons. Chiefly, it has to be said, in their disdain for referee Kevin Clancy.

The ultras group behind the goal in the Copland Stand did seem to be in a more supportive frame of mind, though. Well, until the 55th minute rolled around again at least.

They didn’t walk out this time, but they did unveil banners spelling out that for a Rangers player, putting yourself second to the team should be the only time that coming second should be acceptable to you. Fans in the Broomloan Stand simultaneously broke out the bedsheets with the spray-paint spelling out that it was time for change.

All in all though, it was much tamer stuff, and with the team having to dig deep at points in the second half, they would no doubt appreciate that their fans stayed with them, both literally and figuratively.

Sloppy Aberdeen their own worst enemy

It is little wonder that Aberdeen are on such a poor run on this evidence. Their new-look backline was a bag of nerves, and the only surprise was that their sloppy play wasn’t punished until the 13th minute.

Sivert Nilsen got away with one at the weekend in his unfamiliar centre-back role, clumsily conceding the stoppage time penalty that was squandered by Hearts attacker Jorge Grant, but he didn’t get off the hook here when he threw in another howler.

Doohan rolled the ball out to the Norwegian, but under no pressure at all he allowed the ball to squirm under his foot to Vaclav Cerny, and from there, it was panic stations.

The Dons managed to block his path to goal, but when it broke to Igamane, he had all the time in the world to pick his spot for his 13th goal of the season.

The jitters that were afflicting Nilsen were catching, too. New arrival Kristers Tobers was slack on the ball, while the space in behind James McGarry on the left had to be seen to be believed.

It is admirable what Jimmy Thelin is attempting with his side, but his players’ confidence looks absolutely shot. Time and again they made their own problems by giving the ball away as they tried to play out from the back.

Credit must go to Rangers for pressing them high, but the presence of a man in blue or the lack of one seemed immaterial for the most part.

Ianis Hagi shines, but Rangers make heavy work of killing it off

Such was Rangers’ dominance and Aberdeen’s ineptitude around the time of the opening goal, it seemed as though Ibrox would be treated to an emphatic routing of the team they love to beat more than any other outside of Celtic.

Thanks though to some good goalkeeping from Doohan, particularly as he kept out a stinging Igamane effort at full stretch, and some wastefulness in front of goal from the hosts, the Dons remained in the game.

That was particularly frustrating to Hagi, who for all his impressive play on the night just couldn’t force the ball home. It wasn’t for the want of trying, with the Romanian clipping the top of the bar with a brilliant effort from range and then firing just past the post moments later.

It would have been hard to grudge him a goal to cap off an eye-catching display, and it remains a great shame that he was absent from the Rangers scene for so long.

Clinton Nsiala raw, but developing, as Rangers face Propper injury sweat

As former AC Milan centre backs go, Nsiala may not be the most storied name, but in fairness, Franco Baresi – even at his current age – may have been able to deal with the threat posed by Aberdeen in the opening half an hour here.

Even allowing for the paucity of the opposition attack though, Nsiala dealt well with whatever came his way in those early stages, and is looking more assured as each game passes.

He certainly has all the raw attributes. He is strong and has a good turn of pace, but he also showed that he is still rough around the edges by naively diving in on Kevin Nisbet and picking up a booking just before half time.

The last thing that Rangers manager Clement was needing in this context then – and with Nsiala not registered for the Europa League – was an injury to the experienced Propper, but with the way things are going for the Belgian, it was no surprise to anyone that it was exactly what he got.

The centre back took a knock to his knee in the act of blocking a McGarry effort, meaning Leon King may be brought out of the deep freeze to partner Balogun for the visit to Old Trafford.

Aberdeen new boys will need time

It would be harsh to judge Tobers and winger Jeppe Okkels on the evidence of a couple of games, but it is fair to say that the quality they possess to justify such hefty price tags (in the summer anyway, in Okkel’s case) hasn’t been immediately apparent.

Tobers was turned inside out by Dessers for the third goal, and looked rushed on the ball, while Okkels barely had it as he put in a thankless shift down the left.

Better things will be expected once these guys settle, and they should be given grace for a little longer yet.

The one positive is that the emergence of on-loan Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Alfie Dorrington as a second half substitute should spell the last time Nilsen is seen in the position, barring an emergency.