Rangers 2-2 Motherwell: Reigning champions fail to narrow gap on Celtic after losing two-goal lead

Motherwell substitute Jordan Roberts tapped in from close range to spark a second-half comeback

Rangers failed to narrow the gap on Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic after losing a two-goal first-half lead at home to Motherwell.

But the Ibrox side lost their verve after the break as substitute Jordan Roberts tapped in before Kaiyne Woolery squeezed in an unlikely leveller to earn the point that moves Motherwell up to sixth.

Celtic's goalless draw at Hibernian earlier on Sunday presented an opening for Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side to reduce the leaders' advantage.

It looked the reigning champions would grab the opportunity with both hands, but two moments of cheap defending, coupled with poor second-half finishing, allowed Graham Alexander's men to claim a point at Ibrox for the second time this term.

• Reaction & as it happened

Buoyant after Thursday's scalping of Borussia Dortmund, plus the news that leaders Celtic had dropped points at Easter Road, Rangers bouncing into this game with a spring in their step.

The hosts started with a swagger as Morelos took a fine first touch before poking a close-range effort against the crossbar.

The Fir Park side travelled to Govan aiming to beat Rangers in the league for the first time in two decades - a run stretching to a mammoth 50 games.

A top-flight win at Ibrox was further in the distance, last coming in May 1997, and the away side's afternoon looked ominous as Rangers knocked the ball around with pace and purpose in front of a deep visiting backline.

Captain James Tavernier tried to catch Liam Kelly out at his back post with a curling effort that had the keeper at full stretch to tip over.

Moments later, John Lundstram, deployed at centre-back alongside Connor Goldson, failed to divert a free header on target.

Ibrox youth product Kelly bettered his earlier save from Tavernier when he threw himself high to his right to get a strong palm behind Lundstram's top-corner-bound effort.

The visiting keeper was helpless to the quickfire goals that quickly followed, however, with Ryan Kent's cross diverting off Mugabi into the bottom-right corner.

And two minutes later, Kent's low ball from the left evaded everyone in the box before falling into the path of Sakala, who smashed in his fifth goal in three games against the Lanarkshire side.

Rangers ended the half with 73% of possession, but a triple substitution from Motherwell - who failed to have an effort in the first period - gave them more energy in attack.

Woolery burst down the Rangers right with ease, steaming past stand-in centre-back Lundstram, and drilled a low ball across for substitute Roberts to tap in.

Rangers pushed to restore their two-goal lead as Morelos had a header and close-range finish ruled out for narrow offside calls before Kent stung the palms of Kelly.

But failure to add to their tally meant Motherwell were always in the game, and Alexander's side took their chance to punish the hosts' wasteful finishing when Woolery somehow managed to keep a hold of the ball and squeeze a finish past Allan McGregor at his near post.

Ricki Lamie's blushes were saved by an offside flag when the defender passed up a golden chance to give Motherwell a remarkable lead, stabbing a deep free-kick from Jake Carroll straight at McGregor.

And the centre-back was involved in the thick of the action straight up the other end when a sensational block denied Scott Arfield. The rebound fell to Goldson, who struck straight at an inspired Kelly.

Rangers screamed for a penalty for handball in the closing stages, but Motherwell survived a late scare to earn a fantastic point, while the Ibrox side's stuttering 2022 league form drags on.

Man of the match - Kaiyne Woolery

A toss of a coin between Woolery and keeper Kelly, but without the forward's attacking drive in the second half, Motherwell would be heading back to Lanarkshire with nothing

More to follow.