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Aribo returns and Sakala makes Premiership debut in Rangers win over Livingston

Nigeria's Joe Aribo was in action as Zambia's Fashion Sakala made his Premiership debut in Rangers' 3-0 victory over Livingston on Saturday.

The Gers continued from where they left off last season after they recorded an unbeaten league run with an overall tally of 102 points from 38 matches.

Ianis Hagi opened the scoring at Ibrox Stadium in the eighth minute following an assist from James Tavernier, and second-half goals from Scott Wright and Kemar Roofe sealed the hosts' dominant performance and their first win in the 2021-22 campaign.

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It was a memorable fixture for Zambia striker Sakala who made his first appearance in the Scottish top-flight following his free transfer from Belgian club KV Oostende in June.

He led Steven Gerrard's attack and he was in action for 71 minutes before he was replaced by Jamaica's Roofe.

Aribo, meanwhile, earned a spot in the starting XI after he missed Rangers' friendly games against Arsenal, Brighton & Hove Albion and Real Madrid.

He was on parade for 64 minutes while his compatriot Leon Balogun played the entire match as his defensive contribution helped the hosts keep a clean sheet.

"I thought it was good in large parts. We played with a lot of control and there was very little action in our box,” Gerrard said after the match.

"Our mentality changed from 1-0, we complicated the game a little bit, then from 2-0 to seeing the game out I thought we were fantastic again. But I thought we sort of came off it a bit."

Rangers will hope to build on the win when they begin their bid to qualify for the Champions League with a trip to Malmo on Tuesday.

After the trip to the Eleda Stadion, Gerrard's men are scheduled to face Dundee United for their second league match on August 7.

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