Dundee United suffered their second successive heavy defeat as they failed to stop Rangers recording a seventh successive shutout.
The Tangerines had lost 4-0 to Kilmarnock in their last match and it was the same scoreline this time at Ibrox as they went down to goals from Ryan Kent, James Tavernier, Kemar Roofe and substitute Scott Arfield.
As well as the three points, the hosts could celebrate becoming the first team in Scotland’s top flight for 114 years to start a league campaign with seven clean sheets.
United had started with fit-again striker Lawrence Shankland on the bench, while Ryan Edwards replaced the injured Mark Connolly at the centre of the defence.
A lot of the pre-match talk had been about it being a grudge match but the Tangerines were totally focused on improving on their Killie defeat a fortnight earlier.
The Light Blues, meanwhile, were looking for that shutout record but they lost defender Leon Balogun to injury in the warm-up, with Filip Helander coming in.
The visitors were behind after just 13 minutes, when the dangerous Kent burst in from the left-hand side of the Tangerines’ box before slamming a low shot past keeper Benjamin Siegrist.
By then Rangers had lost a second player, Ryan Jack, to injury but it didn’t seem to bother them as Glen Kamara took his place.
That was also the case when a crocked Brandon Barker hobbled off on 23 minutes, making way for Alfredo Morelos.
United just couldn’t take advantage of Rangers’ rejigging and found themselves two down on 39 minutes when Borna Barisic’s deflected cross made it to the back post and was slid into the net by Tavernier.
The Tannadice men had come closest from set-pieces, with a Calum Butcher that wasn’t too far away the highlight for them.
The visitors made a switch at the break, replacing Powers with Logan Chalmers.
Rangers kept pressing and it needed a superb save from Siegrist to thwart Roofe before Kent missed at the back post after Morelos crossed to him.
The home players were dropping like flies, with sub Morelos next to go off injured – on a stretcher – but of more interest to United fans watching from home would have been the appearance of Shankland on 59 minutes for Nicky Clark.
Siegrist saved the visitors again with a terrific double stop when he saved from first Ianis then sub Bassey.
It looked like only a matter of time before it would be 3-0, though, and Rangers duly scored again on 68 minutes when Roofe nipped in to guide Arfield’s cross-cum-shot past Siegrist.
Realistically, all United could hope for in the closing stages was to stop the record by grabbing a consolation goal.
And they almost did just that when midfielder Ian Harkes smacked a shot off the bar from the edge of the box with four minutes remaining.
That seemed to rile Rangers and up they went to score a fourth, with Arfield giving Siegrist no chance with his strike three minutes from time after being found by Hagi.
Rangers: McLaughlin, Tavernier, Goldson, Helander, Barisic (Bassey 59), Jack (Kamara 11), Davis, Hagi, Barker (Morelos 23, replaced by Arfield 59), Kent, Roofe. Subs not used: Firth, Patterson, Stewart, Itten.
Dundee United: Siegrist, Neilson (Freeman 82), Edwards, Reynolds, Robson, Powers (Chalmers 46), Butcher, Harkes, Bolton (Sporle 81), Clark (Shankland 59), Pawlett. Subs not used: Deniz, McMullan, C Smith, Appere, Graham.
Referee: Kevin Clancy.
