Cyriel Dessers at the double as Balogun-less Rangers hit Hearts for five

The 29-year-old found the net in each half as the Gers brightened their chances of a 56th Scottish first-tier diadem

Rangers overpowered Hearts 5-0 in Saturday’s Scottish Premiership fixture, with Cyriel Dessers bagging a brace.

Unbeaten in their last nine outings in all competitions, the Gers welcomed Steven Naismith’s men to the Ibrox Stadium.

And they put up an awe-inspiring display to send the visitors back home with heads bowed low.

Inspired by their home fans, Phillipe Clement’s team took the lead in the second minute through Mohammed Diomande after he was teed up by Oscar Cortes.

Cortes doubled the advantage in the 37th minute before Dessers added a third in the goal-laden first half – heading a cross from John Souttar.

He completed his brace three minutes into the second half before super-sub Fabio Silva completed the destruction with 25 minutes left on the clock.

With Dessers effort, he took his tally for the 2023-24 campaign to 16. He was substituted for Kemar Roofe in the 79th minute, while his compatriot Leon Balogun was an unused substitute.

“For sure the synergy with the fans is amazing for the moment and in the warm-up you feel the togetherness, the passion and the belief, so that pushed my players. It is really what I love and what I wanted to see the first day I stepped into this building,” manager Clement told RangersTV.

“I knew how great it could be, we talked about that in the beginning, and I am starting to feel it more and more and my players also.

“We scored five really nice and really good goals and kept a clean sheet which also stays important against a team who are third in the league and were 12 games unbeaten. Let’s not forget that so that is also an important part that you take into account for this game.”

Rangers – as a result of their win – remain at the summit of the Scottish Premiership having accrued 67 points from 27 outings. They are guests of Kilmarnock on February 28.

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