Player ratings v Aberdeen – Defoe gets 8

Steven Gerrard tonight overcame his Aberdeen hoodoo at last with an ultimately-deserved win at Pittodrie.

Ibrox Noise takes you through our post-match ratings for a huge win in the north.

McGregor:

A curious match from Allan – that strange petulant needle side to his game which has appeared since his return to Ibrox surfaced again and he was lucky not to be booked or worse, but his saves in places were big and important and he played a huge role in organising his defence. 8

Tavernier:

Defensively mixed – some good blocks and interceptions but some bad lapses too and ran out of steam in the second half. Attack wise he was fairly vibrant but there were still a lack of crosses and penetration from him, and we’ve seen him play better than this. Utterly culpable for bringing Aberdeen back into it via a clumsy penalty but took his own well enough to beat Lewis. 6

Goldson:

A big risk and while he was tidy enough, he wasn’t ‘obvious’ enough with his defending – seemed very quiet and rather tentative. A few useful headed clearances but this wasn’t a performance of magnitude – and Cosgrove had his number quite a few times. 6

Worrall:

Got stuck in a lot, and while he made a few slight gaffes he made up for them with some solid robust defending, and good reading of the game. Similarly struggled though against Cosgrove early on but can be happy with his night overall. 7

Barisic:

We saw more of his defensive side tonight, and it was pretty good. It’s telling how few attacks from Aberdeen came through the right, and Barisic was a big reason there. It did affect his attacking qualities, and he managed few crosses, but it was overall a polished display. 7

Jack:

Nowhere the same as he was on the opening day of the season with that titanic display – this one saw a reasonably neat performance from him but not one which dictated the match much – in truth he wasn’t heavily involved and we didn’t see the same level of defensive grit as we’re accustomed to from him. 6

McCrorie:

Hard working and clearly loves playing for the shirt, McCrorie was marauding around as much as he could, thriving on this run he’s getting. He didn’t nail it every time but he was physical and had the sleeves rolled up. 7

Arfield:

Rangers’ midfield overall was surprisingly quiet – it didn’t dictate much and Arfield’s subdued display was a major reason for this. When he hits the heights Rangers’ centre looks excellent, but in this one he lacked the influence he usually has, especially off the ball. On it though he did make some good passes and used the ball fairly well. 6

Kent:

Not as impactful as he’d want, Kent was absolutely stellar with the few moments he did get – he was the difference in this match with two effective assists. When he ran he was unstoppable but he wasn’t able to get as involved as he can be. But he was still rightly the MOTM. 8

Candeias:

Some deft flicks and moves but while he’s been in good form lately, this maybe wasn’t his best performance and it lacked his typical cutting edge. 6

Morelos:

Another colourful display featuring the best and worst of Alfredo Morelos. Took his goals brilliantly, especially the second, but played on the edge overly physically all night and cost his team again with a moment of stupidity. It wasn’t the worst assault ever on a football pitch but you just cannot put your studs on an opponent’s backside. 7

Subs:

Defoe:

Did next to nothing then scored a killer goal. That’s why he’s at Ibrox. We’re really warming to this lad. 8

Coulibaly:

Hard to judge his impact but he did bring energy even if he appeared rusty. 6

Katic:

A few good blocks – helped his team and worked hard 6

Steven Gerrard:

Put out pretty much his strongest XI, reverted back to 4-2-3-1 thankfully and picked a team that worked for him. His game management nailed it tonight – a polished performance, even if few individuals had great matches, but the team system worked a treat and Aberdeen didn’t get into it till the red cards. This was where Derek McInnes did deal with things a bit better but Gerrard’s ace was Jermain Defoe plus his players running through walls for him. Steven Gerrard definitely got the better overall of McInnes. At last. 8