Once upon a time, it was a three-way race: Glasgow Rangers have bowed out of the Scottish title race—and now face the prospect of losing second place ahead of the Old Firm derby.
The question of which of the three contenders in the thrilling Scottish Premiership title race would run out of steam first has been answered since Monday night: Glasgow Rangers lost the top-of-the-table clash at league leaders Heart of Midlothian 1-2 and now have only a theoretical chance of winning their first championship since 2021.
With three matchdays remaining in the season, Hearts sit three points ahead of defending champions Celtic and a full seven points ahead of the Rangers, who face the Old Firm at their archrivals’ home this coming Sunday. A third consecutive defeat looms.
Against the Hearts, everything initially went according to plan for coach Danny Röhl’s team. A deflected shot by Dujon Sterling following a throw-in beat former Freiburg goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow in the home side’s net (23rd minute)—a well-deserved halftime lead.
“We played a strong first half and deserved to be ahead. We knew they’d come out of the locker room with intensity,” Röhl said afterward. Indeed, Hearts showed a completely different side after the restart, first equalizing with a tap-in by Stephen Kingsley (54′), before captain Lawrence Shankland sparked a party atmosphere at Tynecastle Park (71′).
What does third place mean? That also depends on Celtic
“What I expect from my team now is that they show character and courage in the next three games,” said Röhl, looking ahead after the bitter setback—knowing that second place is also still up for grabs. Second place qualifies the team for the Champions League qualifiers, while third place leads only to the Europa League or Conference League qualifiers. The former would be the case if Celtic wins the cup final against Dunfermline Athletic on May 23 (4 p.m.). As champions, the Rangers—unlike Hearts and Celtic—would have even had a realistic chance of jumping directly into the group stage of the Champions League. But as of Monday, that prospect is all but gone.
