3 talking points as Rangers scrape past Motherwell to keep the heat off Gio van Bronckhorst

Malik Tillman's moment of magic set Rangers on their way to a much-needed three points despite a late Motherwell rally at Fir Park.

The USA international's brilliant solo run and finish lit up an otherwise dreary Premiership encounter before John Lundstram's header should've put the under-fire Ibrox men out of sight. But Stuart McKinstry's looping free-kick strike, the youth academy product's first for the club, sparked a nervy finish from which Giovanni van Bronckhorst 's men just about emerged with three points.

They arrived in Lanarkshire still smarting from a 7-1 Champions League demolition at the hands of Liverpool on Wednesday and with the knowledge that Celtic had moved five points clear at the Premiership summit by scoring six of their own against Hibs on Saturday. Van Bronckhorst had faced calls for his immediate sacking in the wake of a humiliation that equalled Rangers' worst-ever defeat, so it goes without saying that maximum return was all that would really do for the Dutchman should he wish to quell those demands for his head.

His team were miles short of their best and it took Tillman's individual excellence to break down a Motherwell side who offered little of their own. That opening goal aside, it certainly wasn't a 90 minutes that will feature on any trips down memory lane but victory keeps the wolves from Van Bronckhorst's door and, crucially, keeps his team in the league title race.

Tillman for Fashion Sakala was the only unenforced change from Rangers' Liverpool debacle, with Leon King coming in for the injured Connor Goldson. The youngster has considerable shoes to fill given Goldson's ever-presence over the past four years but he at least showed he can ping a diagonal like his central defensive