Motherwell inflicted a third consecutive home defeat on Rangers as two first-half strikes ensured interim manager Barry Ferguson endured a painful return to Ibrox.
Luke Armstrong and Tom Sparrow strikes delivered the Fir Park side just their second league win over Rangers in 61 attempts, the other coming at Ibrox last year.
There was real controversy late on, though, as Cyriel Dessers had a second ruled out for offside when pictures appeared inconclusive as to whether team-mate Danilo had touched the ball on its route through.
Expectation and positivity seemed to have risen in the home crowd ahead of kick-off, the fightback in the 4-2 win at Kilmarnock spurring hope of better times ahead in the season run in.
That was quickly obliterated as the visitors surged ahead.
It was a comedy of errors that initially unlocked the home side. Jack Butland gathered and looked to release Cyriel Dessers.
He lost it in a dangerous area, Dan Casey pounced, Butland spilled his tame effort allowing Armstrong the chance to net from close range.
The goal was initially ruled out for offside before being corrected by the VAR as the striker had timed his run perfectly.
Motherwell were playing very well and got in again when Callum Slattery escaped down the right, fed Sparrow but, from an angle, he fired just past.
The midfielder would not be denied though as Michael Wimmer's side engineered an impressive second. Lennon Miller did superbly on the left, found Slattery, who again played in Sparrow in acres of space and he finished emphatically.
Rangers struggled in most elements of their play but might have pulled one back as Dessers hit the side-net from a great position, before the increasingly familiar half-time Ibrox boos rained down from the stands.
Ferguson was decisive, making three changes at the break, and while the hosts improved, the performance was far from what he would have hoped.
Dessers did reduce the deficit when he capitalised on Casey's hesitation to finish clinically but then was denied, controversially, by the offside flag.
They pushed for an equaliser but James Tavernier, on his 500th Rangers appearance, blazed over as the visitors held firm.