Dundee United 1-1 Rangers: Reaction from Tannadice - wastefulness a major concern for champions; Kent backs up Ribery comparison; van Bronckhorst disinterested in referee debate

Just as teams who become league champions possess the happy knack of winning games when not playing well, a crucial defect of those who fall short in a title race is the failure to secure maximum points from matches they dominate.

The latter scenario is one which is now staring Rangers in the face after they wastefully dropped two points against Dundee United at Tannadice on Sunday.

Coupled with Celtic then finding a way to overcome Dundee with a late winner at Parkhead, it leaves the reigning champions three points behind their Old Firm rivals at the top of the table with 11 games of the campaign remaining.

Unlike when they lost 1-0 at Tannadice back in August, this couldn’t reasonably be described as a poor performance by Rangers. On the contrary, in an absorbing match on a difficult pitch, they produced significant spells of smart and inventive football – especially in the second half as they looked to overturn Ross Graham’s 29th minute opener for United.

But despite enjoying 74 per cent of possession and having 29 attempts at goal, Rangers were undone by the lack of a cutting edge in the final third with only Joe Aribo’s 76th minute equaliser to show for their efforts.

There were similarly worrying statistics for Giovanni van Bronckhorst in Dingwall last month when Rangers were held to a 3-3 draw by Ross County despite having 72 per cent possession and 25 attempts at goal, albeit their biggest issue that day was defensive errors.

Van Bronckhorst has lost just one of his 19 games in charge of Rangers so far but is in serious danger of failing in his primary objective of retaining the Premiership title, having inherited a four point lead at the top of the table when he replaced Steven Gerrard in November.

Video: Proud