The Glasgow Rangers supporters would have been hoping that Storm Bert’s devastation across Scotland would have given the club a day off, especially considering the dismal performance the Ibrox side delivered on Saturday.
Yet again, more Premiership points were dropped and yet again, Philippe Clement’s side displayed no sense of dynamism or fluidity during the 1-1 draw against Dundee United.
Any hopes of a serious title challenge are now surely over with four weeks left until Christmas. It isn’t the greatest time to be a fan and even the most ardent of supporters aren’t looking forward to the League Cup final against Celtic next month.
Vaclav Cerny was on the scoresheet once again to rescue a point for the Light Blues, and he is turning out to be one of Clement’s finest players at the moment.
The best and worst performers for Rangers vs Dundee United
Cerny not only scored the equaliser, but the winger also made eight key passes, succeeded with five dribbles and managed six total shots during the clash. Any other night and he could have scored three.
Nicolas Raskin once again looked solid in the heart of the midfield, completing 90% of his passes and winning eight total duels.
Mohamed Diomande was deployed as an attacking midfielder, but he was subbed off at half-time, contributing just 15 passes, zero shots and zero key passes in what was a poor performance indeed.
It wasn’t as bad as Cyriel Dessers’ display, however, as the striker continued to find new ways of somehow performing worse than his previous game…
Cyriel Dessers’ stats vs Dundee United
Rangers won’t win another league championship with a centre-forward like Dessers leading the line. Some sections of the support may harp on about his scoring record, but the fact is, he is an infuriating player who contributes next to nothing.
Against the Arabs, the Nigerian completed three passes – yes, three – managed zero shots, lost both of his aerial duels and took just eight touches during the first half before he was subbed off for Danilo.
Key stats – Rangers vs Dundee United | |
|---|---|
Stat | Highest ranking |
Key passes | Vaclav Cerny (8) |
Total shots on target | Cerny, Raskin and Hamza Igamane (2) |
Ground duels won | Cerny (6) |
Aerial duels won | Sam Dalby, Declan Gallacher, Jort van der Sande and Raskin (5) |
Accurate passes | Robin Propper (89) |
The Brazilian went and grabbed an assist for Cerny’s goal while looking ten times as lively as Dessers.
Going forward, Clement must start Danilo ahead of the 29-year-old, otherwise, the club are going to continue to drop points domestically, that’s for sure.
Journalist Hernan Federico Pacheco claimed that Dessers has “an allergy to scoring like never before” and it is hard to disagree with the Argentinian.
Unfortunately, it looks as though the fans will have to put up with the former Feyenoord striker leading the line against Nice on Thursday, as Danilo isn’t registered as part of the European squad in what was a bizarre choice by the manager.
January simply cannot come soon enough. Will Clement still be in charge by that point? At this moment in time, that looks highly unlikely.
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