Fireworks are guaranteed whenever Aberdeen face Rangers, whether it is off the pitch or on it – and Sunday’s meeting of the sides at Pittodrie promises to be no different.
For the Dons, victory in the lunchtime kick-off will take them up to third place, even if it could be only for a couple of hours as rivals Hibernian host Dundee in the 2.30pm kick-off.
For Rangers, they will need to win at Pittodrie to deny fierce rivals Celtic from being crowned Scottish Premiership champions if the Hoops beat Kilmarnock at Celtic Park on Saturday.
But, let’s be honest, even if there was nothing at stake between the two teams, the competitive edge would be there regardless.
In this decade alone there have been some instant classics between the Dons and the Light Blues, and we’ve picked out five of the most memorable recent encounters from this decade.
Rangers 2 Aberdeen 2 – October 27, 2021
Played against the backdrop of an emotional Ibrox following the death of legendary manager Walter Smith, the Dons and the hosts served up a classic at Ibrox.
Aberdeen raced into a two-goal lead inside the opening 16 minutes as goals from Christian Ramirez and a diving header from captain Scott Brown put Stephen Glass’ side in control early in Glasgow.
However, an Alfredo Morelos header reduced the arrears in the 20th minute before a contentious penalty, awarded for a push from Dons defender David Bates on Fashion Sakala, allowed Gers skipper James Tavernier to rescue a point from the spot 10 minutes from time.
Aberdeen 2, Rangers 3 – December 20, 2022
One of the wildest finishes to a game between these two in recent memory, and it’s one which will live long in the memory for former Dons boss Jim Goodwin.
Fashion Sakala’s early opener had Michael Beale’s side 1-0 up at Pittodrie before Aberdeen turned the game around thanks to a Duk free kick on the stroke of half-time followed by Leighton Clarkson’s goal early in the second half.
Beale responded by making four substitutions as his side chased the game, but his changes looked to be in vain – until the game reached injury time.
In the fifth minute of stoppage time, Scott Arfield converted the rebound after home goalkeeper Kelle Roos had spilled Ryan Kent’s shot, before Arfield grabbed a dramatic smash-and-grab winner two minutes later when he converted Malik Tillman’s cross to leave the Red Army, and their players and manager, stunned.
Aberdeen 2, Rangers 0 – April 23, 2023
The second meeting of the sides at Pittodrie that season was no less dramatic than the first as the Dons inflicted defeat on the visitors to give interim boss Barry Robson his seventh consecutive win.
On-loan Celtic defender Liam Scales gave the Dons the lead at the start of the season half in remarkable fashion as his cross from wide on the left looped over visiting goalkeeper Allan McGregor and into the net.
Bojan Miovski’s header quickly doubled Aberdeen’s lead as they moved five points clear in third place – and gave Celtic the chance to clinch the title in their first post-split game in the process.
Rangers 1, Aberdeen 3 – September 30, 2023
Another day of high drama between the sides as the Dons recorded a stunning victory which would cost Gers boss Michael Beale his job.
Aberdeen arrived at Ibrox looking to build on their 4-0 win against Ross County the previous weekend – their first league win of the season after starting the campaign with two points from their opening five matches.
They did just that, inflicting the third league loss in seven games for the Rangers boss, surviving an early flurry from the home side before Stefan Gartenmann broke the deadlock for Barry Robson’s side.
Jamie McGrath doubled Aberdeen’s lead midway through the second half, before former Don Scott Wright was sent off for the home side.
Abdallah Sima gave the 10-men hope when he pulled a goal back, but Jack MacKenzie’s rebounded effort off the crossbar sparked jubilant scenes among the players and travelling support – and spelled the end for the beleaguered Beale 24 hours later
Aberdeen 2, Rangers 1 – October 30, 2024
Jimmy Thelin’s first encounter with Rangers as Aberdeen boss was certainly a memorable one.
The Dons, buoyed by an outstanding start to the season, raced out the blocks as they swarmed over their opponents, yet somehow only had Nicky Devlin’s goal to show for their first-half efforts.
Graeme Shinnie also struck the woodwork before Jamie McGrath saw his poor penalty saved by Gers goalkeeper Jack Butland, and it looked as if the Dons would regret those squandered chances when Nedim Bajrami levelled for the visitors.
However, super-sub Shayden Morris had other ideas as he fired home a dramatic winner to secure a victory for the Dons which took them nine points clear of their opponents after 10 games of the campaign.
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