So Rangers strike the first blow in the post-World Cup half of the Scottish Premiership season and Michael Beale starts his reign as Ibrox manager with a victory that cuts Celtic's lead at the top to six points.

But it was a close call, Hibs gave them a right scare by going into the break 2-1 ahead - so both sides will take positives while knowing there's much work to be done.

Next up, we have five top-flight fixtures for you on Saturday. Join us then, when Celtic will be looking to restore their advantage away to Aberdeen.

Sportscene is starting shortly, showing highlights from what was a thriller at Ibrox, on the BBC Scotland channel.

End-to-end in an action-packed first half before Rangers took control in the second - and some fine goals too.

Image source, BBC Sport

Don't forget to catch up with Martin Dowden's match report from Ibrox, which you can read here.

And you can keep up with the latest Rangers news here.

And regular updates about Hibs here.

Image source, SNS

On Ryan Porteous' more advanced role in midfield, Hibs manager Lee Johnson tells Sky Sports: "I thought he played really well.

"It was something different and we needed a defensive mindset to fill the gaps and I thought he done so really well. He competed, he is a good footballer anyway and I think he enjoyed it."

Image source, SNS

Ryan Porteous, scorer of Hibs opener at Ibrox, is out of contract in the summer, hasn't agreed a new contract and has some suggesting Rangers would, or should, be interested in the centre-half.

When asked on BBC Radio Scotland, Rangers manager Michael Beale says: "Ryan is a good young player. He played in a new position and he scored a goal.

"My focus has firmly been on this group. I've seen him come through. I was here when he made his debut. He's a big part of their squad and I wouldn't want to speculate on that.

"I know it's come out he's not signed a contract. He must have something in his mind, but it won't be Rangers because we haven't discussed him yet."

More to come from both managers about Hibs centre-half Ryan Porteous, who has been linked with Rangers by some newspapers...

Hibernian manager Lee Johnson says he "is disappointed we lost the game but thought it was an excellent performance".

"First half was superb, we did fade a little bit, but there are a lot of positives in the performance, which gives us something to build on properly," he tells Sky Sports.

"I can't be too disappointed, I am frustrated because we had a 2-1 lead. To concede from a set play is disappointing as it's an opportunity to be strong and too many times this season we have been weak in those moments.

"We had good players back on the pitch, good performances, a good structure to our defence work and some very good counter attacks in the first half."

More from Rangers manager Michael Beale: "We need to improve on set plays. We lost Leon King this morning to illness. That wasn't ideal. He was in the team.

"Colak was in the team and, at the end of the training yesterday, he had a problem with his calf. I've had to ask John Lundstram to help us do a job and I'm asking James Sands as a young player to play centre-back.

"Connor's been back in training for two days and Ben Davies three. I felt I could get away with it tonight based on the performance against Bayer Leverkusen and I just about did.

"The players have had a lot thrown at them in the last couple of weeks. It was not anywhere near what I wanted it to look like. We've got a lot of work to do."

Image source, SNS

Hibs striker Kevin Nisbet is disappointed with the result but happy to be back playing football for the first time since February.

Of the first half, he tells BBC Scotland: "I think we obviously took our two chances, we were picking up second balls and frustrating them with our shape.

"But losing two goals in the second half was just not good enough. The goals are team mistakes and we need to analyse it and move on."

As for his goal, he says: "It's great. I've been out for a long time.

"I had an inkling that I would come in and score. I just need to see how I react, but I'll maybe not play full games for a few months."

Rangers manager Michael Beale admits there was a lot of "anxiety" around his side, but thinks a half-time team talk worked wonders.

"We had a nice chat at half-time and said to take the emotion out the game and play the game for what it was," he tells BBC Scotland. "The first time the ball went near our goal, it went in.

"Then everyone gets anxious and people take too many touches, so I asked them to go back to the style we practise every day. I said there would be chances in the second half.

"The reality that hit me tonight is there's a lot of anxiety to get through, but the character of the team is good and we dominated in the second half and we deserved to win the game."

Lee Johnson and his Hibs players will wonder how they let that one slip.

But they will take positives from a game where they had the Premiership's second-top side on the rack for the first 45 minutes.

They have now lost four in a row, seven in the last eight and are in eighth place and will know results need to improve.

Image source, SNS

John Collins
Former Hibs manager on BBC Sportsound

Rangers midfielder Ryan Jack says "it was a game of two halves".

"In the first half, we found it tough to get to grips with our shape, but the manager calmed us down at half-time and second half was a lot better," he tells Sky Sports. "Our style was how we wanted it to look.

"From our point of view, it's two poor goals to lose, so there is a lot to learn from the game."

Image source, SNS

Sportscene is starting shortly, showing highlights from what was a thriller at Ibrox, on the BBC Scotland channel.

End-to-end in an action-packed first half before Rangers took control in the second - and some fine goals too.

Image source, BBC Sport

Neil McCann
Former Rangers winger on BBC Sportsound

Martin Dowden
BBC Sport Scotland at Ibrox

The proverbial game of two halves, this one.

Hibernian were superb in that opening 45, but what a response from Rangers.

Whether that was based on Michael Beale's formation reshuffle, man-management or Lee Johnson's side dropping a level isn't clear.

But the win is vital for the home side and, despite some concerning moments, they showed real desire and resilience to dig themselves out of a nightmare situation.

Sighs of relief and joy ring around Ibrox as Michael Beale gets that winning start to his reign as Rangers manager.

But they were given a real fright by a Hibs side who led twice in the first half thanks to goals from Ryan Porteous and Kevin Nisbet.

However, Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos added to Fashion Sakala's early strike to make sure Rangers move to within six points of leaders Celtic.

Rangers are just hoofing it up the park now. Desperate for the final whistle.

Big chance for Hibs!

Aiden McGeady makes good space for himself, whips in a dangerous cross and, when it falls to Elie Youan, the striker can only slice it wide.