5 things we learned from the cinch Premiership this weekend

A late goal by substitute Danilo gave Rangers a dramatic 2-1 win over Hearts at Ibrox and breathed life into the title race.

Celtic drew 0-0 at Hibernian on Saturday and are now five points ahead of the Light Blues at the top of the cinch Premiership.

Elsewhere, Aberdeen lost 2-0 at Kilmarnock, Motherwell came back to draw 3-3 at home to Ross County and there were wins for Dundee and St Mirren, the latter victory having huge implications for St Johnstone boss Steven MacLean.

Here, the PA news agency looks at five things we learned from the weekend.

Rangers battle back to clinch crucial victory

Philippe Clement was taking charge of Rangers for only the third time and saw their resilience tested to the limit against Hearts. Captain Lawrence Shankland gave the Jambos the lead after just five minutes and Gers supporters’ disgruntlement slowly increased as their side huffed and puffed, with skipper James Tavernier hitting a post with a penalty just before the break. The Light Blues kept going in the second half without any joy initially, but just when it looked like Hearts would escape with a famous victory, Tavernier was handed a second chance from the spot and made no mistake before substitute Danilo headed in a winner to close the gap behind league leaders Celtic to five points. If nothing else, Clement knows his players will keep going to the end.

Brendan Rodgers wary of wholesale changes

The Celtic manager picked the same team at Easter Road that played the bulk of Wednesday’s Champions League draw with Atletico Madrid. But the champions lacked tempo and a spark until showing more urgency when the likes of James Forrest, Mikey Johnston and David Turnbull came on. The goalless draw maintained Celtic’s unbeaten league record but they may have to rotate their team for the visit of in-form St Mirren.

Mika is Motherwell’s saviour

Mika Biereth sparked an unlikely Motherwell comeback as they twice came from two goals down to force a 3-3 draw with Ross County. The on-loan Arsenal striker won and scored a penalty and set up Conor Wilkinson to net before teenager Luca Ross grabbed a stoppage-time equaliser. Well have missed Biereth during a knee injury lay-off and his Premiership record is attention-grabbing: in 50 minutes of action he has provided two goals and two assists.

Steven MacLean departs St Johnstone

There was no real surprise when it emerged on Sunday that the Perth side had parted company with manager MacLean. Saints remain bottom of the league without a win following their 4-0 defeat by St Mirren on Saturday. MacLean claimed some players “chucked it” during the defeat in Paisley but in the end it was the former Perth striker and first-team coach Liam Craig who paid the price for a poor start to the season.

Aberdeen continue their league struggle

The Dons put up a good fight against Greek outfit PAOK in their Europa Conference League game on Thursday night before losing 3-2 at Pittodrie. However, they were well off the mark when they travelled to Rugby Park on league duty on Sunday. Goals from Killie skipper Kyle Vassell and fellow forward Marley Watkins gave Derek McInnes’ side a deserved 2-0 win and took them into fourth place in the table. Aberdeen are 10th with just nine points from nine fixtures and have only won two league games.