Nedim Bajrami's 98th-minute penalty salvaged a point for Rangers as they snatched a Scottish Premiership draw in controversial circumstances against Dundee United.

Zac Sapsford had Jim Goodwin's side ahead after a blistering run down the right that ended with a delightful dink over the goalkeeper.

Goodwin had asked his side pre-match to score the first goal - something they haven't done in their previous nine matches - and they managed just that.

But they sat back and invited pressure, with Jayden Meghoma's long-range strike coming after a period of concerted pressure from Rangers.

United came again, though. Amar Fatah, who had been in erratic form, kept the ball alive after Kristian Kerezstes' header was cleared off the line.

Skipping past three defenders, he danced to the edge of the box and drilled a low shot into the bottom corner as Rangers' meek defending was again exposed.

Arguably, United should have had a chance to make it a two-goal cushion from the penalty spot.

For the second time in three weeks, a ball struck Emmanuel Fernandez's arm in the penalty box - this time after a long throw - but again no penalty was awarded.

A relived Rangers charged up the other end in search of a leveller.

Substitute Youssef Chermiti had a golden opportunity to equalise but, from the middle of the six yard box and unmarked, he glanced his header wide.

Instead, the opportunity came with the final kick of the game as Max Aarons was fouled in the box by Will Ferry. Up stepped Bajrami, and he curled it into the top corner.

The draw makes it just four wins from Danny Rohl's first 10 games in charge of Rangers, with Celtic and Hearts nine points ahead at the top of the league.

United, meanwhile, stay eighth, five point adrift of the top six.

Rohl said prior to this he'd sorted things defensively, and now it was time to focus on the offence. The opposite was true at Tannadice.

United targeted Rangers' left-hand side and Sapsford got in behind a few times before scoring his brilliant solo goal.

There was a nervousness between the central defensive pairing of Nasser Djiga and Fernandez, who looked unsure of what to do when on the ball.

But they took advantage of the space that United offered them after going ahead, and when Meghoma scored, it felt deserved.

They continued to create chances - the xG of 4.27 tells you that. Bojan Miovski was only denied by a brilliant Dave Richards save, Djeidi Gassama hit a post, and Chermiti's missed header would be taken by other strikers.

There was Danilo's spectacular bicycle kick at the start of the second half which hit the bar, and Meghoma was denied by another Richards save later on in the match.

It was a similar story for United, too. Although the hosts' xG was far lower, they still had 13 efforts with six on target - just four fewer than Rangers. But similarly, they looked a bit shaky at the back when balls were whipped into the box.

However, when it came to duels won, it was almost 50-50 and aerially United just about edged it. The hosts also made more tackles and more interceptions.

And perhaps, they will point to the big decisions. No handball penalty against Fernandez, and the spot-kick given at the end.

The challenge from Ferry on Aarons was soft. There was contact, but was it enough for Aarons to go down clutching his leg? Regardless, it was given, Bajrami scored, and Rangers left with a point.

Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin: "That's five draws in the last eight games - that's not good enough for us to achieve what we want to achieve. We've performed well in big games and we have to bring the same mindset to other games.

"I can see why it [the penalty] is given. The Rangers player just about got there half a second before Will. If that happened at the other end, I'd be screaming for it.

"It would have been nice to get it [a penalty for Fernandez incident] but I'd be disappointed if my defender got punished in that situation."

Rangers head coach Danny Rohl: "We are disappointed with just one point. I see how many chances we create, we should win this game. We had more tempo, better body shape between the lines.

"The weekend [at home to Falkirk] was a boring draw, today was an entertaining draw, but for both you get just one point."

United visit St Mirren on Saturday (15:00 GMT) looking for a first win in six since beating the Paisley side in October.

Rangers travel to face struggling Kilmarnock later in the day (20:00).