“Lost, 4/10” who was bottom (and top) of the pile in Rangers’ player ratings v Villarreal?

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“Lost, 4/10” who was bottom (and top) of the pile in Rangers’ player ratings v Villarreal?


There is so much to cover from last night’s heroics in Spain, but we’ll try to begin with the simplicity of player ratings.

How many of Ibrox Noise’s scores do you agree with?

Allan McGregor:

Beaten all ends up for both goals, but made two or three big blocks and saves and was a huge part of Rangers’ securing a point. 8

James Tavernier:

A first half on a leash showed just how much Rangers miss him when he doesn’t bomb forward. There was nothing attacking on the right at all without Tavernier, and in truth his defending was pretty solid. He had no part to play for either conceded goal, and was a huge threat in the second half when he advanced. 8

Connor Goldson:

Didn’t seem to start too well but grew into his European debut (at this level) with aplomb. Was responsible for a lot of good clearances and generally led the line well. Did let his men go a bit deep later on though and need sometimes to lead with more authority. A good night overall. 8

Joe Worrall:

Really struggled – from his ungamely attempt at clearing before Bacca finished, Worrall was shaky otherwise and didn’t assert himself in any way. We can’t understand why he started over the infinitely superior Katic and he was a real weak link. 5

Borna Barisic:

Might have done better with Villarreal’s second but it was the only blot on a night where he grew more and more into the match as it wore on. Maybe not enough of his stunning delivery, but he worked hard and generally defended well. A touch of understated class. 7

Andy Halliday:

It wasn’t till VERY late that Halliday finally got a grip of his game (having been switched to LB) and stopped making bad passes and judgements of position. He struggled noticeably last night, and not till the final 20 in defence did he finally get a hold of himself. 5

Lassana Coulibaly:

Since he grew into the first team Lassana has been a brilliant rock, a reliable midfield anchor and full of running. Sadly last night he was lost, a headless chicken who was rightly taken off. He’s mortal, and this match totally passed him by. 4

Scott Arfield:

A slowish start but his goal was huge and showed the quality he has, as well as his growth into this game (it was, into his 30s, his European debut) – and the more the match wore on the more vital his experience of other high level football came into play. Unconventional position as a 10 behind Lafferty, but overall put in a very good shift. 7

Ryan Kent:

Yet another slow starter, he improved gradually and one of two of his moves were excellent, but he did look a little more like the ‘out of sorts’ player we’ve criticised him for being in the past. Completely upstaged by the man who replaced him. 6

Daniel Candeias:

After we bigged up his professionalism and qualities recently, Danny let us down arguably with his worst display as a Rangers player. Not quite diabolical, it was flat, weak, had little defending and if it hadn’t been for his assist he’d have been a complete waste of a shirt. But the currency is productivity when it counts and he got in a vital setup for Arfield. 6

Kyle Lafferty:

The big man isn’t a target man – he isn’t capable of the physical game Steven Gerrard wanted him to fill Alfredo Morelos’ absence with. He really isn’t your one man up front kind of player and it’s safe to say Morelos is the best in the SPL at this, for his faults. But the Bold Kyle broke his European duck (with a gorgeous goal) and still did work incredibly hard trying to make things happen up top. So respect for that 7.

Subs:

Glenn Middleton:

What a cameo. Glenn’s introduction changed this game totally and he tore the backside away from the yellow defence. He got just over 15 minutes and used them as well as it’s basically possible to use a late substitute appearance. 10

Graham Dorrans:

After sources claimed this guy wasn’t even going to play till next year, he’s defied it all and got a cameo last night. And frankly, what little he did gives Steven Gerrard a huge selection headache, the kind he wants. His setup for Arfield’s late near winner was absolutely world class, and playing like that on a regular basis Graham Dorrans can raise Rangers’ level. Marvellous. 9

Ross McCrorie:

Clean and tidy and settled in nicely to the DM slot, giving Stevie another headache! Did better in his cameo than Halliday had all night. 8

Steven Gerrard:

No one can understand why he put Worrall in over Katic, claiming pre-match that Katic needed a rest and the international break had exhausted him. Thing is, he wasn’t on the international break? Nevertheless, this selection oddity aside, Gerrard’s team management was very good – he picked the team we expected, Worrall aside, even if we weren’t convinced it was the best we have. But his changes changed it, and his HT team talk was much much better than the one at Parkhead. This was a match of management, maybe Gerrard’s first real test under pressure in a match – and he got his big calls on the night correct and gave Rangers fans wonderful memories of a match we expected nothing from. Well done sir. 9.

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12 COMMENTS

  1. Really harsh on Halliday. Thought he was disciplined and moved the ball well. The headline is also a bit cup-half-empty for after a 2-2 away to a La Liga team. The take-home message from last night surely isn't the Lass had a mare.

  2. Katic played with his countries under 21s he has played every minute of every game for Rangers since he signed with no break

  3. Still undefeated in Europe which is remarkable. I thought the 3 in behind Lafferty were poor for the majority of the game but somehow managed to contribute to the goals. Middleton needs a new contract NOW. We can play better and to get a draw while playing so badly is huge.

  4. Middleton, love him, for me it was him that got man of the match, must be a starter for Sunday, had my doubts over Dorrans, hope he starts on Sunday as well

  5. Delighted. Done us proud. Barisic and Arfield are possibly my 2 favourite signings, I think they are going to vital for us but last night I thought barisic was terrible apart from his run and cross and Arfield done nothing until he scored then played well after that. I thought Halliday was decent considering coulibaly took the night off. He played a pass to barisic who let it go out the park, made Halliday look bad. I thought worral done great, what a 1st game for him and he will only get better. Great competition. Middleton must start on Sunday! Let's go!

  6. Candeias 3/10. Would be 2 for he not Square for Tav

    Arfield 4/10. Would be 2 had be not tapped in.

    Halliday 3/10

    3 guys you’d expect to press but they didn’t. They chased shadows and were far too disjointed making it easy for their defence to thread balls between the lines and immediately into our back 4.

    Little or no quality on the ball. No bravery in taking the ball in tight situations either. Couldn’t keep the ball. Offered little. Shite.

  7. I do wonder about this page!! Andy Halliday had a pass success rate of over 90% last night. Worrall was solid for the most part. Considering it was his first outing, i thought he was excellent.

  8. Agree with most of your scores. But think Halliday was the best of the poor midfield three and Arfield had a mare, so would have swapped those two scores.
    Don't get Katic out for Worrall.

    3 years ago last night we came from 1-0 down at halftime to draw 1-1 away from home with Alloa. It has been a long, hard journey back but this season has already exceeded my best hopes.
    RTID

  9. I thought Tav took another step up in standards and performance in the 2nd half last night. Good 1st half but like the whole team seemed a bit nervous and happy to defend. 2nd half he looked determined to show he was as good as or better than anyone else on the park. Took control with that run for the 1st goal. Lead by example. Outstanding captains performance!

  10. Worrall played well,was pretty unlucky the way the ball bounced off him for the goal. The didn't get many real chances on goal other than the goals and the couple of chances at the death.

    I saw it the way the manager saw it, first half we were afraid of the opposition, was our first time playing at this level and we were trying to figure it out. We were giving away passes because we were scared. Gerrard's team talk at half time made the team believe we could stand toe to toe with Villareal, and in the 2nd half we gave them a good go. We don't have a 70m team, we have a 10m team, we were big underdogs last night. Nobody in the team should be getting slated for their performance, they still need to prove to themselves that they can play at this level. We are on our way

  11. To Be Honest, Every Player played Well.

    There wasnt one played that really played "Poor" or had a "Crap" Night as getting a 2-2 Draw in Spain is Outstanding! 💪

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