Rangers 3-0 Aberdeen

Rangers defender James Tavernier scored the first of his two goals from the penalty spot

Rangers climbed into third place in the Premiership with a win over 10-man Aberdeen that closed the gap on the Pittodrie side to three points.

James Tavernier opened the scoring from the spot after six minutes after Jason Holt was felled by Greg Tansey.

Carlos Pena added the second before half-time on his return to the starting line-up.

Tavernier wrapped up the win with a third, despite appearing to be offside, before Ryan Christie was dismissed.

Rangers also had a first-half effort ruled out for offside, when Josh Windass converted Ross McCrorie's through ball.

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The victory ended a run of back-to-back defeats for the home side, and was also chastening for an Aberdeen team looking to strengthen their grasp on second place under manager Derek McInnes, who continues to be linked with the managerial vacancy at Ibrox.

It was Rangers' caretaker boss Graeme Murty who won the tactical battle though, lining up with a midfield diamond - Pena played in the hole behind attackers Kenny Miller and Windass - that confounded Aberdeen.

Rangers caretaker manager Graeme Murty got the better of Aberdeen's Derek McInnes

The visitors deployed a back three, and Rangers took full advantage of the spaces left in the final third as well as an off night for Tansey.

The midfielder was reckless as he threw himself into a challenge on Holt inside the penalty area, catching the Rangers midfielder and prompting referee Andrew Dallas to point to the spot. Tavernier converted the spot kick with cool precision.

Aberdeen were out of sorts, and Pena drew a fine save from Lewis with a shot from distance, then Windass thought he had doubled the advantage after converting a clever pass from McCrorie, only to be flagged offside.

The visitors' relief was brief. Two minutes later, Holt burst into the space in the right channel between Aberdeen's centre-backs and wing backs, and crossed for Pena to sweep the ball into the net for his fifth goal in 10 games.

Rangers midfielder Carlos Pena scored his fifth goal in 10 games for the club with the second against Aberdeen

Rangers had to be resilient, and Tavernier was in the right place at the right time to clear from the goal-line after Scott McKenna and then Andrew Considine tried to bundle in Christie's free-kick.

McInnes didn't wait until half-time to make a change, replacing Tansey with Gary Mackay-Steven and switching to a back four.

The substitute almost made an immediate impact, scurrying into the box despite stumbling over contact from Tavernier, then kicking the ground before the ball as he tried to shoot.

His effort went wide, and Mackay-Steven was then booked for his angry reaction to Dallas at being denied a spot kick.

Aberdeen saw more of the ball after the break, but were restricted to half chances as Rangers held their ground. Christie tried his luck from distance, but his shot with the outside of his left foot was straight at Wes Foderingham.

Aberdeen's Gary Mackay-Steven was booked for protesting to referee Andrew Dallas over a denied penalty claim

The home side extended their advantage when Windass swept a cross into the box and Tavernier converted from inside the six-yard box, although the full-back looked to be in an offside position when the ball was crossed.

Aberdeen's misery was compounded by a late dismissal for Christie, shown a second yellow card for bringing McCrorie down from behind.

The sides meet again at Pittodrie on Sunday, with Aberdeen looking to bounce back, and Rangers seeking the three points that would draw them level with their opponents in the table.