Celtic 0 Hearts 2: Hearts planted the title race back in the grateful hands of Rangers after snatching a shock victory at Celtic Park on Saturday.
With one Old Firm game left to go at Ibrox after the split, Alex McLeish's men will have the unexpected opportunity go a point clear at the top with a win at Motherwell tomorrow.
And they had John Robertson's men and, in particular, former Celtic striker Mark Burchill to thank.
Lee Miller headed the Edinburgh outfit into an early lead before setting up Burchill to give them a two-goal advantage at the break.
The home side never recovered from that in a dress rehearsal for next week's Tennent's Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden Park, and Robertson, whose future is not absolutely certain under new chief executive Phil Anderton, left Celtic Park with a big smile on his face.
Celtic started confidently but their fans were stunned into silence after just eight minutes when the visitors snatched the lead against the run of play.
David Marshall, back in for injured Robert Douglas for the first time since November 10, did brilliantly to keep out Andy Webster's point-blank header, from Marius Kizys's free-kick, but Miller reacted quicker than the sleeping home defence to head home the rebound.
The Glasgow giants reacted instantly and Hearts had Steven Pressley and Robbie Nielsen booked, the latter for bringing down in-form Craig Bellamy outside the box.
From the resulting free-kick, Aiden McGeady curled an inviting ball into the box but John Hartson headed over from just six yards.
Hearts were let off the hook in the 17th minute when Alan Thompson's dangerous corner was allowed to fly across the face of goal.
Bobo Balde looked surprised to see it arrive and he completely missed a golden chance to pull Celtic back on level terms.
And the home side were emphatically punished three minutes later with Burchill ruthlessly coming back to haunt them.
Miller played a perfectly weighted ball through to Burchill after a Stephane Henchoz mistake. Stanislav Varga gave him far too much room and the former Portsmouth striker coolly steered his right-foot shot past Marshall and into the bottom corner.
CELTIC: Marshall, Henchoz (Wallace 36 mins), Balde, Varga, McNamara, Lennon, Petrov, Thompson, McGeady (Maloney 68 mins), Bellamy, Hartson. Subs not used: Hedman, Sylla, Valgaeren, Fernandez, Lambert.
HEARTS: Gordon, Neilson, Pressley, Webster, McAllister (Simmons 77 mins), MacFarlane, Kizys (Stewart 72 mins), Hamill, Wallace, Burchill (Elliot 62 mins), Miller. Subs not used: Moilanen, Wyness, Berra, Cesnauskis. Booked: Pressley, Neilson, MacFarlane. Goals: Miller 8, Burchill 19.
Referee: H Dallas (Scotland).
Motherwell 2 Rangers 3: Rangers emerged from Fir Park with three precious points after coming through a frantic away day that featured late goals and controversy.
Alex McLeish's men had been cruising at 3-1 up thanks to two first-half goals from Gregory Vignal and a third soon after the restart from Dado Prso.
When Kevin McBride pulled one back from the penalty spot it looked like being only a consolation effort for the home side but, when Barry Ferguson was sent off and Martyn Corrigan made it 3-2, the stage was set for a nerve-jangling finale.
Rangers hung on to take the win they needed to climb above Celtic at the summit of the Premier League. The challengers are now a point ahead with a superior goal difference of six goals.
Beforehand, McLeish had been forced into changes after Thomas Buffel returned from international duty with Belgium with a thigh strain.
That opened the door for Hamed Namouchi and, with Maurice Ross nowhere to be seen, skipper Fernando Ricksen dropped back to right back so Alex Rae could start in midfield.
Namouchi set up the opening goal within four minutes and also supplied the second.
His first assist needed a slice of good fortune as, after accepting a clever ball from Ricksen, his delivery from the right found only the head of Well defender Stephen Craigan. The Northern Irishman could only head it to where Vignal was lurking just inside the box, however, and the Frenchman produced a crashing first-time finish to give Gordon Marshall no chance.
Just after the half-hour mark, the on-loan left back from Liverpool had netted another. This time he used his head to meet a cross from Namouchi.
Within six minutes of the restart Well must have been fearing a repeat of their 5-1 Hampden hounding in the CIS Insurance Cup final last month when Prso headed home a Ricksen free-kick. The Croat had won it himself, wide on the left, and rose the highest to nod the ball in off Marshall's left-hand post.
But Bob Malcolm conceded a penalty that McBride converted in the 71st minute and, after Ferguson's dismissal, Corrigan's deflected 25-yarder set up a fraught ending that somehow failed to see another goal.
MOTHERWELL: Marshall, Paul Quinn, Craigan, Partridge, Hammell, McBride, Leitch, Corrigan, Paterson (Foran 59 mins), Clarkson (Britton 81 mins), Scott McDonald. Subs not used: Kerr, Corr, Wright, Kinniburgh, Fitzpatrick. Booked: Scott McDonald, Clarkson, Foran, Craigan. Goals: McBride 71 pen, Corrigan 84.
RANGERS: Waterreus, Ricksen, Kyrgiakos (Khizanishvili 71 mins), Malcolm, Ball, Namouchi (Arveladze 66 mins), Ferguson, Alex Rae, Vignal (Lovenkrands 61 mins), Prso, Novo. Subs not used: Burke, Thompson, McGregor, McCormack. Sent off: Ferguson (79 mins). Booked: Kyrgiakos, Ferguson, Ricksen. Goals: Vignal 4, 32, Prso 51.
Referee: D McDonald (Scotland).
