Fashion Sakala scored a hat-trick as rampant Rangers came from a goal down to beat 10-man Motherwell 6-1 on Sunday, extending their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership to four points.
Steven Gerrard’s champions struggled in the early stages at a sodden Fir Park, with Motherwell defender Bevis Mugabi opening the scoring in the 13th minute from a tight angle.
Rangers captain James Tavernier, celebrating his 30th birthday, levelled with a fine volley in the 43rd minute before crossing for striker Sakala to head the Ibrox men into a half-time lead.
The Zambia international added a third with a deflected drive in the 63rd minute before Motherwell captain Stephen O’Donnell was dismissed by referee Nick Walsh after a second yellow card.
His dismissal opened the floodgates.
Midfielder Glen Kamara drove in a fourth in the 75th minute and Sakala secured his hat-trick with four minutes remaining before Kemar Roofe made it six in added time to take Gerrard’s side four points clear of Old Firm rivals Celtic.
The pressure on Rangers following their 2-2 home draw with Aberdeen in midweek was alleviated by Celtic’s 0-0 stalemate at home to Livingston on Saturday and defeats for Hearts and Dundee United.
But they made the most of their rivals’ dropped points.
“It was really emphatic,” Gerrard told Sky Sports. “We played with real quality.
“Obviously, we got off to another set-back early on but I thought we dealt with that and managed that really well. We showed great character to get back in a good place before half-time.
“And then we just went on. I think that’s been coming, it’s almost been in the post. We’ve been waiting for that performance for some time. It was back to our identity. I thought we were an inch away from being perfect today, all round we were superb.”
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