Whatever misgivings Ibrox Noise still has about Portugal’s Youssef Chermiti (and we have a few), one thing we can’t discredit him over is his rating for Hearts. Youssef Chermiti achieves milestone in the big one.
It’s not just a rating, it’s a statement, because the former Everton striker became the first player from either Old Firm side to score 10/10 for a match rating this season. Stuart Findlay is the only other top 3 team player to do this campaign, at the heart of Hearts’ defence. The one other 10 was Topi Keskinen of Aberdeen. These are credible Sofascore ratings using their metrics analysis system.
No Celtic player has scored 10/10, although Nygren came close with a 9/9. As did Rangers’ Jack Butland with a 9.8 v Celtic. One Celtic player DID score 10, but not for Celtic, but for Kilmarnock. A youth lad on loan at Rugby Park. He’s gone to Orient now.
Chermiti
But this is important for Chermiti.
To nab a hat trick and have clearly his best match as a Rangers player was a big deal. He technically got an assist too, given he played the final ball which led to Hearts’ early OG.
This was his big moment, his evening of shining.
And yet his one big flaw remains that passing. Just 52%. He frequently loses the ball to the wrong jersey which is a big problem in his game for sure.
Passing
But when your striker is banging in 3 against Hearts and getting a technical assist for a fourth, his passing maybe matters less.
It is entirely possible Chermiti has finally, at long last settled. We still fear another flat, poor display from him in the next one, when the patter will be, again, as it was after Celtic, ‘ah, the real Chermiti is back’.
But for now Chermiti can enjoy the crest of this wave he is on. We’re not going to say he’s ‘earned’ it. He cost £11M after all.
A first
But to be the first Old Firm player to score 10/10 this whole season is a testament to how impressive he was against Hearts and he will definitely savour it as Youssef Chermiti achieves milestone.
Getting a full mark on these stats sites is not easy. You really do have to produce a titanic display which effectively wins the game. Big, game-winning moments like key passes, goals, assists.
And he got a lot of all of those.
10/10 indeed.