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Five talking points from Saturday's Scottish Premiership action

:Headline: Five talking points from Saturday's Scottish Premiership action: ID:429042: from db_amp
Rangers look out of reach for Celtic and Livingston march on, but Motherwell's struggles continued.

It was a significant weekend in the Scottish Premiership as Rangers beat Celtic 1-0 at Ibrox.

Elsewhere there were wins for Livingston and Hamilton while honours were even elsewhere.

Here are five things we learned from the first fixtures of 2021.

It is Rangers' title to lose

Steven Gerrard's side extended their lead to 19 points having only dropped four all season. Celtic have three games in hand but their title destiny is out of their hands for the first time and even winning all their games – something they do not look like doing – might not be enough to claim a 10th consecutive championship.

Allan McGregor has still got it

The Rangers goalkeeper is 39 this month but his fingertip save from Leigh Griffths showed he has not lost his agility. The former Scotland international faced a strong challenge for the gloves from Jon McLaughlin earlier in the season but he proved why he regained his place as he made several good stops early on to repel Celtic's flying start.

Celtic need a solution in central defence

Celtic's Nir Bitton pulls back on Rangers' Alfredo Morelos (Andrew Milligan/PA)

With Christopher Jullien ruled out for four months with a knee injury, converted midfielder Nir Bitton started in central defence alongside Kristoffer Ajer. The Hoops were dominant until one hopeful ball down the line caught out Bitton and led to his red card for hauling down Alfredo Morelos. Shane Duffy came on and again looked shaky.

Motherwell need to change more than the manager

Stephen Robinson quit in frustration in midweek after nine games without a win but caretaker boss Keith Lasley endured a torrid start with a 3-0 defeat at Hamilton. Lasley admitted they need fresh blood and will push ahead with signing plans formulated before Robinson departed.

Livingston are getting even better

David Martindale made it seven wins from seven games in charge thanks to a 3-0 win at Hibernian. The only time the club have enjoyed a longer winning run was four years ago when they were in League One and their previous best winning runs as a top-flight team ended after a fourth win.

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last updated article - 2021-01-03 09:25:48:
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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Celtic30225371234871
2RangersRangers29231564164870
3Hearts3017493930955
4Kilmarnock30111183933644
5St Mirren30126123637-142
6Hibernian30911104145-438
7Dundee2999114050-1036
8Motherwell30711124147-632
9Aberdeen3079143348-1530
10St Johnstone30610142141-2028
11Ross County3069152851-2327
12Livingston3038192052-3217
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