For Cyriel Dessers, a surprising late goal at Old Trafford didn't amount to much in the end. At Tannadice, their last grand final brought a solid and tangible reward in the form of a long-awaited away victory for Rangers in the Premiership.
It was the first time this season that the Ibrox team recovered from losing an opening goal to take all three points in a league match.
The last time they went five road games without a win was in April 2017, when Martyn Waghorn and Joe Garner led the line and Clint Hill was the oldest swinger in defence.
Top scorer in the Premiership, Sam Dalby's 19th-minute goal for United threatened another day of anger and recrimination until Mohamed Diomande's tremendous effort drew the visitors level before the break.
Diomande couldn't last the 90 minutes. Suspended for the midweek defeat to Manchester United, the Ivorian midfielder received a harsh red card for five minutes of stoppage time for slapping Kevin Holt with fresh air.
An incredulous Philippe Clement will appeal the decision after referee Nick Walsh maintained his view that players cannot go around slapping opponents, whether outdoors or otherwise.
An angled shot from Cyriel Dessers completes the scoring in Rangers' 3-1 win against Dundee United.
Defender Robin Propper celebrates putting Rangers ahead 2-1 with a shot deflected off Tannadice
The flash point had no bearing on the final result: a deflected shot by Robin Propper early in the second half put Rangers ahead before Dessers finished brilliantly from an angle with four minutes remaining.
Ridvan Yilmaz's absence from Rangers' squad list has sparked unfounded speculation over the full-back's return to Turkey as the transfer window approaches its final week. The reality was more mundane: Yilmaz joined a long list of injuries, so Clement would have benefited from an away game against Holby City, let alone Dundee United.
Already missing Dujon Sterling, Neraysho Kasanwirjo, John Souttar, Leon Balogun, Kieran Dowell, Connor Barron, Vaclav Cerny, Rabbi Matondo, Oscar Cortes and Danilo, the victory was slow for Clement.
United hit the woodwork three times and could have scored more than once in a first half when Rangers looked plodding and one-dimensional.
Jim Goodwin's men came into the match on a run of four wins from their last six (albeit following the Scottish Cup defeat to Dundee) and Dalby's physicality tormented the visitors from the start.
The game was barely four minutes old when he headed a corner from Ryan Strain towards the goal. The ball bounced off the base of the post and James Tavernier scrambled to safety before the home team could push him over the line at the second attempt.
Across all Premiership grounds, the new favorite tactic is the long shot. A team wins a throw-in 20 meters from the opposing goal and the ball is thrown into the penalty area by a winger with arms like Popeye.
It's hard to think of another team doing better than Dundee United.
There were 19 minutes left when Tavernier gave up a throw-in at the Rangers' 18-yard line. Will Ferry stepped forward to lob the ball into the box like a shot putter at the Olympics and Dalby's presence sent the Rangers players into panicked submission.
Like sheep fleeing from a barking dog, Nedim Bajrami and Propper were startled as the ball swung across the area. Declan Gallagher pushed it towards goal before it broke favorably for Dalby to score his 11th goal of the season in the postage stamp corner.
It was difficult to argue with United's advantage. Rangers were yet to win a game after conceding the first goal in the Premiership this season, drawing three and losing four. And, until Diomande's coup, that did not seem to change.
From the moment Tavernier fed the midfielder on the edge of the box, he had one plan and one plan only.
Turning Luca Stephenson one way and then the other, the number 10 smashed a forehand into the corner of the net through a pile of bodies.
Should goalkeeper Jack Walton have done better? Probably. Given the bodies blocking his path, it is likely that the United goalkeeper was blind. Either way, a big hit brought a welcome moment of respite for the Rangers.
Guilty of the loss of a terrible goal at Old Trafford, Jack Butland's unconventional save with his abdomen prevented Dalby from scoring another (he could have achieved a hat-trick in the first half), but the visitors wiped out half the team stronger.
Mohamed Diomande is frustrated by the referee's controversial decision to send him off
With Hamza Igamane attacking his opponents for fun, a double Walton save from Dessers and Bajrami kept the game level at the break.
When offered the opportunity to collect his thoughts and regroup, United did not take it. Four minutes into the second half when a fatal error of concentration by Strain gave Rangers a second goal.
Goodwin expects his teams to be compact and active. That was not the case as Strain switched off and allowed Ianis Hagi to roll the ball towards Propper, unmarked in acres of space.
There was certainly good luck in the end. A left foot strike caused a huge deflection off Holt's boot, sending goalkeeper Walton in the wrong direction. For the first time this season, Rangers recovered from losing the first goal to take the lead.
Enjoying over 60 percent possession, pinging the ball, the opportunities were there to conclude the game. Dessers hit and missed. Igamane's curling attempt was stopped by Walton.
United held on and came within inches of an equalizer when Nico Raskin deflected a dangerous Dalby cross against his own post. The ball bounced to safety, the Belgian was lucky.
Rangers put any doubt to rest with an impressive third goal.
Substitute Zak Lovelace appeared to have overcooked a through ball for Dessers until the much-maligned striker topped his late goal in Manchester with an angled shot to make it 3-1.
On a day when Diomande was heading towards the man of the match award, a debatable red card (not even the referees could agree) denied the midfielder his moment of personal glory, but not the victory bonus paid for a coveted, beautiful three points from Ibrox.
Dundee United: (4-4-1-1): Walton 6; Strain 4.5, Gallagher 5.5, Holt 6, Ferry 6; Fotheringham 5.5 (Trapanovski 62), Stephenson 6 (Van der Sande 80), Middleton 5.5 (Fiorini 82), Sevelj 6; Paton 5 (Muda 62); Dalby 7.
Manager: Jim Goodwin 6.
Reserved: Ferry, Middleton, Gallagher, Holt.
ranger (4–3–3): Butland 7; Tavernier 7, Propper 7, Nsiala 7, Jefte 6; Raskin 6, Diomande 7, Hagi 7 (Lovelace 83); Bajrami 6, Desserts 7, Igamane 7.5.
Manager: Philippe Clemente 7.5
Reserved: Tavernier.
Referee: Nick Walsh.
Attendance: 13,653.