Rangers 1-2 Hibernian
- Published
Hibernian earned their second win of the season at Ibrox after Jamie MacLaren scored the decisive goal from the penalty spot.
The visitors took the lead in the first half when John McGinn rifled the ball home from 20 yards.
Rangers equalised through Sean Goss's free-kick, the midfielder sweeping the ball into the top corner.
Scott Allan was brought down inside the area moments later, and MacLaren converted.
Rangers could have cut the gap on leaders Celtic to 11 points with a game in hand by beating Neil Lennon's side.
Rangers midfielder Sean Goss scored his first goal for the club with a free-kick against Hibernian
Yet Hibs' second victory of the campaign in Govan sees them close to within two points of Gers in third, albeit having played a game more.
It was a 100mph start as play raged from end to end. Hibs came close to the opener on 10 minutes as Martin Boyle raced to the byline before picking out MacLaren - an early substitute for the injured Brandon Barker - but the striker was closed down by James Tavernier before he could finish.
The Australian did have the ball in the net moments later as he tucked home from Florian Kamberi's cross - but was immediately flagged for offside.
It was Rangers' turn to threaten next, but neither Josh Windass nor Jamie Murphy could beat Hibs goalkeeper Ofir Marciano after defender Ryan Porteous was caught dithering.
Hibernian midfielder John McGinn scored at Ibrox with a 25-yard drive
The pace of the Hibs attack was causing the home side problems, and they were fortunate that Kamberi's finishing was weak after MacLaren burned past Rangers centre-back David Bates.
Porteous came to Hibs' rescue on the half-hour mark as he prevented Alfredo Morelos slotting home after Windass picked out Daniel Candeias with a great ball over the top. But it was Hibs who grabbed the initiative four minutes before the break.
Candeias was hesitant in midfield and paid the price as McGinn robbed possession before drilling into the corner of the net from 25 yards out.
Candeias, Goss and Morelos all came close as Rangers stepped things up at the start of the second period. Morelos thought he had levelled on 64 minutes as he headed home Tavernier's back-post free-kick, but it was ruled out for offside.
Former England and Rangers midfielder Paul Gascoigne was a guest of the club at Ibrox
The hunger missing from Rangers' first-half display evident after the break, but Marciano was proving hard to beat as he foiled attempts from Jason Holt and Windass.
Murty cranked up the noise level by throwing on striker Jason Cummings against his old side, and the lift had an almost immediate effect as Goss swept Rangers level with a deft free-kick on 73 minutes.
Marciano got a hand to the strike as the on-loan QPR man clipped it over the wall, but the goalkeeper could do nothing as it dropped over the line.
The hosts found themselves behind once more, though, as Tavernier's needless barge on Allan - making his second Hibs debut after rejoining from Dundee this week - resulted in a penalty for the visitors, which was rammed home by MacLaren.
Rangers again poured forward looking to salvage a point, but were left frustrated as Porteous produced a heroic block to deny Russell Martin.