Ibrox View: How did Brandon Barker perform for Rangers v Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday?
Steven Gerrard maybe caught a few Rangers fans off guard when he named Brandon Barker in his starting lineup against Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday evening.
The wide man endured a fairly miserable first season at Ibrox, and was limited to just 13 appearances in all competitions last term.
During preseason, however, the manager has voiced his appreciation of the 23-year-old’s efforts, highlighting in particular the winger’s blistering pace as a key weapon that he hopes to utilise going forward.
Maybe that was the reason that he chose to start Barker over Ianis Hagi on Thursday.
The former Manchester City player is capable of driving a team forward in a way that the Romanian is not, and provides a much more natural out ball against a Leverkusen side who were always likely to dominate possession.
On the face of it, however, Gerrard’s decision backfired a little.
Barker hardly covered himself in glory, and that stats only serve to highlight that point.
The wide man completed just nine out of an attempted 31 actions – a success rate of 29%, as per Wyscout.
As a point of comparison, his career average is over 30% higher.
Barker also lost 10 of the 14 duels he contested, and had a dribble success rate that was 5.4% lower than his career average.
But strangely, despite these horror show numbers, there were still some glimpses of promise that should be cause for optimism.
Above is his dribble map from the clash in Germany.
Firstly, it’s pretty obvious that he operates better on the left than the right.
But a closer look at how he was in possession really highlights the pace and directness that has gotten Gerrard so excited in recent weeks.
Take this early example.
Barker does immensely well to take down a searching diagonal ball with a deft touch on his instep before looking to drive straight at his full-back.
Barker’s pace is electric, and with a subtle drop of the shoulder he has the defender twisting and turning in discomfort.
He then has the presence of mind to poke a smart ball into the path of Joe Aribo, and while nothing comes of the attack, Barker’s positivity is a joy to watch, as is his willingness to continue his run.
On the basis of this incident alone, you can see why Gerrard has been so quick to praise Barker in recent times.
The key now is for the winger to produce this kind of play on a consistent basis, rather than once or twice per match.
If he can do that, he can become an asset for the Gers this term.
In other Rangers news, Darren Fletcher has backed this Gers talent for big season in 20/21 after impressive showing v Aberdeen.