Dundee United vs Rangers: Scottish Premiership stats & head-to-head
Published 26 January 2025
Rangers recovered from an early scare at Tannadice to defeat Dundee United in a pulsating, end-to-end and pick up their first away win in seven attempts.
Philippe Clement's side trail Celtic in the Scottish Premiership by 10 points and their poor form on the road - drawing their past three in the league - has put pressure on the manager.
But after Sam Dalby had given United the lead, Rangers hit back through Mohamed Diomande's curling strike.
That gave the visitors the boost they needed and they took the lead after four second-half minutes when an unmarked Robin Propper was able to fire past Jack Walton, via a big deflection.
Rangers came close to extending their lead on a few occasions, but struggled to truly shake off a United side who hit the post three times.
However, Cyriel Dessers wrapped up all three points in the 86th minute when he got on the end of Zak Lovelace's pass and fired high across the goalkeeper and into the top corner.
It was not all good news for Rangers though, as Diomande was sent off in added time following an exchange of shoves with Kevin Holt.
Referee Nick Walsh was asked to review the incident on the pitchside monitor but stuck with his initial decision, apparently of the view that the Ibrox midfielder had deliberately swung his arm towards the face of his opponent.
Rangers wake slowly to quell United threat
For the first half an hour, it looked like it might be another long away day for the travelling Rangers support.
Clement's side have dropped points in eight of their league excursions and had not won since early December at Ross County.
After an energy and morale-sapping loss to Manchester United on Thursday, they started slowly. Passes were wayward, there was little threat, and the hosts had them under real pressure from set-pieces.
Diomande's fine goal breathed new life into them. Hamza Igamane looked more confident, nutmegging defenders at will, and his teammates started to address the physical challenge of United.
There was an element of fortune in Propper's goal but Dessers' late finish was sublime, coming after a brilliant goal at Old Trafford and a Scottish Cup hat-trick.
Clement will be content with the way his team overcame a sticky start to dominate, although he was left fuming at Diomande's dismissal, which looked incredibly harsh.