Thelo Aasgaard struck a late penalty as Rangers edged Saint-Etienne 2-1 in a fiery club friendly at Ibrox. Derek McInnes marked his first home game as manager with victory.
Rangers made a sharp start and led inside five minutes at Ibrox Stadium. Lawrence Shankland converted from the spot to put the hosts 1-0 ahead.
The visitors grew into the contest with smooth technical play through midfield. Jakob Breum equalised in the 38th minute after being set up by Thierno Ballo.
The sides went in level at half-time with the game evenly poised at 1-1. McInnes admitted he was frustrated by spells of the first half.
Rangers handed starts to several new arrivals in McInnes' first home selection at Ibrox. Ivor Pandur, Ross McCrorie, Ben Godfrey, Dan Neil and Shankland all featured from the outset.
The second half turned fiery with late challenges and bookings on both sides. Saint-Etienne defender Bernauer was cautioned for a strong challenge on McCrorie amid rising tension.
McInnes turned to his bench to inject momentum and physicality. Cammy Devlin was introduced as a second-half substitute and quickly made his presence felt with several crunching tackles.
Devlin was named the sponsors' man of the match for his impact. His tackling lifted the crowd and shifted the balance in midfield for Rangers.
The decisive moment arrived five minutes from time for the hosts. Aasgaard kept his composure to score from the penalty spot and secure a 2-1 win.
McInnes said he was pleased with the competitive edge his side showed. "I am pleased we have won the game; I think we showed the competitive side of the team, " he said.
He was frustrated by periods where Saint-Etienne overloaded the middle. "There were a lot of spells I wasn't happy with and a bit frustrated with, but we were up against a smooth and technical team who overloaded the middle of the pitch, and it was clear we had to address that at half-time."
McInnes highlighted Devlin's impact. "I thought Cammy [Devlin] made a big difference in the sense that he won more tackles in 10/15 minutes than we had seen in the first-half and sometimes you just need to get a bit of momentum and show the crowd that you are in the game."
The friendly was played with McInnes permitted in the technical area despite a recent sanction. He will serve a three-game touchline ban when the league season begins.
