Celtic’s hearts broken as we rate Rangers’ massive 3 points

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Celtic’s hearts broken as we rate Rangers’ massive 3 points
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - DECEMBER 19: Cedric Itten of Rangers celebrates after scoring his team's second goal during the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership match between Rangers and Motherwell at Ibrox Stadium on December 19, 2020 in Glasgow, Scotland. The match will be played without fans, behind closed doors as a Covid-19 precaution. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Rangers nailed one of the results of the season after an appalling 5-5 formation from Motherwell provided the biggest low block seen in the SPL for years.

Ibrox Noise takes you through our ratings for a gritty and hard-fought 3 points which may well define the title.

McGregor:

Helpless at the goal and didn’t really have a thing to do otherwise. 6

Tavernier:

An almost comical 23 crossing attempts with 5 of them nailing their target, Tavernier worked as hard as anyone to break Motherwell down. Had plenty of work to do defensively too, and can be very happy with his own contribution. 8

Goldson:

Hapless for the Motherwell goal, but by no means alone, defensively he was otherwise quiet but did win a lot of aerial challenges. Got in a shot as well. 7

Helander:

Let his man free as Goldson did which cost a goal in part, but had an otherwise solid day and wasn’t really pushed beyond that. 7

Barisic:

Another one guilty at the goal of letting his man breathe too much, but made up in part with some good defending elsewhere. Almost as productive as Tav with crosses, managing an excellent 18. Worked hard and a hell of an upgrade on Bassey, bless him. 8

Davis:

A lot of ball use but was very patchy with it till the equaliser. Some wasteful balls early on but he got into it much more and by the end had nearly 90% passing average. Made a lot of long balls and most of them were perfect. Useful defensive contribution as well. 8

Kamara:

Not as heavily involved as we’d want, and was taken off understandably. Just looked a little off it recently, and indeed while his passing percentage was remarkable (98%) most of them were back the way and he only managed 52 (compared to Davo’s 145). 6

Arfield:

Unfortunately by some distance Arfield’s worst performance in the shirt certainly this season. Nothing came off for him today, he wasn’t very involved, and his match resembled Kamara’s – a high percentage of passing accuracy but only 50 or so of them. Not his day sadly. Hooked correctly. 6

Kent:

Another hard-working shift from Kent who was Rangers’ biggest threat for long spells in this match. Full of running, shooting, and passing, Kent was everywhere. A real danger and his assist got the fightback going. 8

Roofe:

Hardly in this one, really, in terms of passing (just 15) but what he did he made count. He works so hard off the ball, creating space – he does everything they say Morelos does but he actually looks like he’s moving when he does it. 6 shots, lots of work to brings others in whether he had the ball or not. Plus that magnificent double. His finest in our shirt. 9

Defoe:

Bright. Got more shots on target than we’d have expected against this opposition, and used his body well to shield the ball. Intelligent play, passing, and understanding. Good movement. Got four shots in. 8

Subs:

Itten:

One shot. One goal. We’re delighted with the difference he made. 8

Aribo:

He’s not got the sparkle back yet but he was desperate to prove himself, and worked hard against that infamous wall of 10 to try and break through. Managed a couple of decent dribbles and was part of the change in dynamic in this game. And of course assisted Roofe’s second. 7

Hagi:

He’s so desperately low on confidence but he is trying. He replaced Arfield and managed some crosses from wide, also providing Itten with his assist. 7

Steven Gerrard:

He picked his strongest team, but they just couldn’t get going at all here, not until changes got made and some creativity showed up. This was, on paper, Rangers’ best team, but this match showed Stevie, and indeed the rest of us, just picking your best players might not be the right approach for a particular match. Motherwell’s low block was absurd, but it nearly worked till Stevie run big match-winning changes. For trying to pick his best team for a big match, we give the manager credit, and for making the bang-on changes when we needed, we give him more. Massive test today, and our manager came through it brilliantly. 9

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2 COMMENTS

  1. Agree with most of the inputs . Tave and Barasic both guilty for the salt goal. The rest frustratingly good to get through this shocking game plan by Motherwell. It’s the way it’s going to be Fuck them All Onwards 55

  2. I’m surprised you let Tavernier off the hook for the Motherwell goal. He was probably the worst offender caught ball watching as the scorer drifted behind him. He also seemed incapable of getting his corners beyond the first offender. Also thought Hagi did better than you suggest. He gave us genuine width to help stretch Motherwell’s back 10. But a huge win.

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