You’d have thought Rangers would have used the fantastic performance against Real Betis as a springboard to build on wouldn’t you?
Well unfortunately that wasn’t the case against Motherwell at Ibrox as, despite securing the victory via a first half Cyriel Dessers goal, Michael Beale’s side were far from convincing from the first minute.
A constant failure to make a string of passes combined with a lack of clinical edge in the final third meant that the away side went into the final 15 minutes still in the match.
From then on, if it wasn’t for some smart goalkeeping from Jack Butland and James Tavernier clearing one off the line, who knows what the score could have finished.
The game management was baffling as well as you’d have thought we were holding a lead against Real Madrid the way we time wasted and just hit goal kicks long into the diagonal. Not Motherwell at Ibrox in September.
Having lifted some of the pressure on himself in midweek, Beale now finds himself in a groundhog day scenario once again, needing to turn the performances around ASAP before it creeps back into the results.
In a game many will be keen to forget, here are the Rangers ratings vs Motherwell.
Jack Butland – 8
Game saving save in 76 minutes to deny Miller. Looked to be the only Rangers player capable of calming the game down late on.
James Tavernier – 6
Made a crucial goal line block in the last 10 minutes but struggled with his final ball throughout the match.
Connor Goldson – 7
Defended well against the physical threat for the most part but will be disappointed with his distribution from defence.
Ben Davies – 6
Struggled a bit more aerially here than against Betis during the week and was guilty of giving the ball away a number of times. Nearly caught out square for the Miller chance.
Borna Barisic – 7
Once again didn’t put much of a foot wrong defensively here although his attacking threat was little to none.
Jose Cifuentes – 6
Seems to be improving with every minute he plays but wanted too much time on the ball at times and needs to be better at that aspect of his game.
John Lundstram – 8
Built on his terrific display midweek here with another top performance as he looked to be the one player in blue looking to drive the team forward. A number of top 50/50 crunch tackles in the second half in particular.
Scott Wright – 6
A surprising pick from Beale as the winger ended up playing as a number eight for most of the game. Couple of smart turns in the Motherwell half but struggled to create anything of note. Subbed.
Rabbi Matondo – 6
Was looking our most lively player again as his shot led to Dessers’ goal. Took a few knocks which led to him being subbed in the first half in what Beale described as ‘not a good one’. Would be a blow to lose him for a long while given his recent form.
Sam Lammers – 7
Our most creative player in the second half as his smart touch and link up player looked to be the only chance Rangers had of building anything of note. Would be a real problem for defences if he could improve his clinicalness in front of goal.
Cyriel Dessers – 6
Unsure whether or not he meant to get the touch which led to the only goal of the game, but the big forward has to improve his movement as he looks like he’s towing a caravan at times. Unlucky not to win a penalty though.
Subs
John Souttar – 5: A baffling move to bring him on for the injured Matondo which really set the team back when they were looking to push on.
Abdallah Sima – 4
Ryan Jack – 4
Bailey Rice – 3
Kemar Roofe – 3