Rangers 2-1 Hibernian: Hagi hits late winner for Ibrox side

Ianis Hagi smashed in a late volley on his first start as Rangers came from behind to earn a Scottish Premiership win over a stubborn Hibernian.

Steven Gerrard's side faced slipping nine points behind leaders Celtic after George Edmundson levelled on the stroke of half time following Paul Hanlon's volleyed opener for the visitors.

However, Rangers piled on the pressure after the break and Hagi's fine 84th-minute strike - on the day his famous father, Gheorghe, turned 55 - keeps them seven points back.

Hibs, meanwhile, stay sixth despite the three teams below them in the division earning victories.

Rangers slipped up at home on Saturday, failing to make the most of their territorial advantage in a stalemate with Aberdeen, and it looked like it might be another frustrating outing for Gerrard's men as Hibs repelled wave after wave of attacks in the second half.

The hosts had 18 corners and visiting goalkeeper Ofir Marciano made a series of good stops to thwart Alfredo Morelos, while Hagi and Joe Aribo came close and Edmundson was denied a second by a goal-line clearance.

However, Rangers kept going on a badly-rutted pitch and made it four successive wins over Hibs thanks to a well-executed finish from Romania international Hagi on his second appearance since signing from Genk on loan.

It was a first defeat of 2020 for Hibs and Jack Ross's side will be exhausted after their defensive endeavours. A far cry from the 6-1 mauling they experienced at the same ground in August.

The first of Marciano's saves came on three minutes when he pushed away a fierce shot from Morelos but Rangers struggled to create any other openings in the first half hour.

Hibs' Joe Newell had a glimpse of goal but could not covert from a tight angle before Hanlon struck.

Christian Doidge was first to a Scott Allan free-kick and keeper Allan McGregor failed to deal with the striker's looping header, allowing Hanlon to slam into the empty net.

Rangers responded with Scott Arfield shooting wide after being teed up by Aribo and the game was level in stoppage time as Edmundson, making his first appearance since October reacted quickest to his own header being blocked to fire home an emphatic strike.

It was one-way traffic after the break, with Hagi firing just wide, Aribo hooking over from close range and Marciano blocking a Morelos effort.

Corner after corner followed, with Hibs unable to stem the flow of attacks, only to hold out with a series of last-ditch challenges.

But Hagi swept the growing worries of the home fans away when Connor Goldson helped an Arfield header on in the box and from a tight angle he arrowed a terrific finish into the bottom corner.

In five minutes of added time, Doidge managed to find room in the box but could head straight at McGregor, while Marciano made his best save of a busy evening to push a thumping Morelos strike on to a post.

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard: "I'm very happy. Obviously it's a big win, three important points.

"It's exactly what we needed. We got out of the game what we deserved. The second-half performance was lot more like us. We deserved to win by more. We were the ones creating chances."

Hibernian manager Jack Ross: "Before the game I spoke about us wanting to be more competitive than we had been against Rangers in the previous two games this season - and we were.

"I was proud of the effort. We were resolute, disciplined and hard working. It's hugely frustrating not to take anything from the game. But there were a lot of positives."