Aberdeen vs Rangers

Rangers left Pittodrie with all three points after a 0-1 win that always looked more comfortable than the scoreline suggested. Aberdeen battled well enough in the first half, and the game stayed goalless at the break, but the visitors kept pushing and their extra quality in front of goal eventually told. Eighteen shots to ten and five on target compared to Aberdeen's two summed up how the second half went, even if the home defence held firm for long spells. Djeidi Gassama was the difference-maker, picking up the man of the match award for a display that gave Aberdeen's backline all sorts of problems down the flanks. Corners were shared evenly at six apiece, and possession wasn't wildly one-sided either, but Rangers made their dominance count where it mattered. For Aberdeen, it's a frustrating home defeat to open the campaign against one of their main rivals.

Rangers beat Aberdeen 0-1 at Pittodrie Stadium, and the numbers from the match back up how the game played out. Even without the extra share of possession, which finished 44% in favour of Aberdeen, Rangers made the most of the chances that mattered and did enough to see the game out. The shot count told a similar story, with 10 attempts from Aberdeen against 18 from Rangers over the course of the game. Aberdeen had their moments and did not make it easy from start to finish, but ultimately came up short on the day. Small margins like this one tend to add up over a season, and results such as this are often what separates teams in the table further down the line. Here is a closer look at exactly how the two sides compared, statistically.