Balogun and Dessers come off the bench to score in injury time as Rangers thrash Aberdeen

Super Eagles duo Leon Balogun and Cyriel Dessers put their names on the scoresheet as Rangers thrashed Aberdeen 3-0 in a Scottish Premiership encounter at Ibrox Stadium on Wednesday night.

Rangers boss Philippe Clement made no alternations to the starting lineup from the win over St Johnstone on Sunday, meaning the two Nigeria internationals started on the bench.

Balogun recovered from an injury to be included in the gameday squad for the first time in six league matches on the bounce, while Dessers has been playing second fiddle to Moroccan striker Hamza Igamane since the start of December.

Igamane continued his rich vein of form by opening the scoring inside thirteen minutes, slotting home the rebound after Mohamed Diomande's shot was blocked.

With fifteen minutes left on the clock, Balogun came off the bench to replace Robin Propper, while Dessers entered the game as a substitute in the 89th minute. 

Balogun powered in a header at the back post to double the advantage in the third minute of stoppage time, and the scoring was not over yet as Dessers wrapped up the scoring four minutes later. 

Dessers was on a six-game goal drought in the Premiership before the visit of Aberdeen, while Balogun opened his account for the season. 

Uncertainty surrounds the futures of the two Super Eagles stars, as the central defender is in the last six months of his contract with the Light Blues, while the striker has been linked to a possible exit before the end of the January transfer window.

After the comfortable win against Aberdeen, Rangers have closed the gap on leaders Celtic to thirteen points.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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