Ibrox View: Controversial Gerrard decision on Rangers dazzler is justified
RANGERS OPINION
When Steven Gerrard announced his Rangers lineup to face Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday evening, it’s probably safe to assume that many supporters were left scratching their heads over his decision to leave Ianis Hagi on the bench.
The Romanian youngster has been wholly impressive since arriving at Ibrox in January, and has so far registered three goals and two assists in eight appearances for the Gers, including a stunning brace in the last round of the Europa League against SC Braga.
With that in mind, it felt like an odd decision to omit a player who some might argue poses as much of a threat as anybody in the squad at the present moment in time.
But a closer look at Hagi’s performance against Ross County on Sunday could provide an insight into Gerrard’s decision to bench the 21-year-old.
By his own high standards, Hagi had a fairly anonymous match in Dingwall, managing just one shot on target, and registering an expected goals rating of just 0.04, as per Wyscout.
A far more pressing issue, however, was his decision making in possession.
Hagi attempted four dribbles against County, but completed just two, giving him a success rate of just just 50%, far below his season average of 58.1%.
And it’s not hard to see why that figure was so low either.
In the image above, for example, Hagi is clearly surrounded by opposition players, to the extent that you could argue the only sensible thing to do would be to turn out of danger and keep possession with a simple backwards pass.
Instead, the Ibrox man decided to push ahead in an effort to wriggle his way through, but was easily dispossessed.
Similarly, in the image above, Hagi receives possession in a tight spot, but rather than looking for the simple option, ends up turning into trouble and putting his side under unnecessary pressure.
Of course, there are times when that kind of risk taking should be applauded, and Hagi has got the talent to back himself in those situations and get away with it, but against a Bayer Leverkusen side who are likely to capitalise on even the tiniest of errors in judgement over the two legs, starting with the more experienced Scott Arfield in the engine room and Joe Aribo out wide could prove to be a wise move.
The Germans have had more than 60% possession in each of their last three matches, the last thing Gerrard needs is for his men to be serving it up on a plate for them freely.
In other Rangers news, ‘Ridiculous’ – Darren Gough delivers reaction to Coronavirus update on Gers v Celtic.