Ibrox View: Rangers draw v Hibs proves fine margins could be costly in 20/21 title bid
On Sunday afternoon Rangers finally conceded in the Scottish Premiership, bringing to an end a record-breaking run of seven clean sheets at the start of the season.
Rangers drew 2-2 with Hibernian at Easter Road, with Drey Wright’s first half finish finally breaching the Gers’ outstanding defensive line.
The run of clean sheets had to come to an end eventually, but Steven Gerrard will be annoyed at the manner in which they conceded two rather soft goals.
At times, this was a frustrating afternoon for Rangers.
On another day Rangers could have had two more goals, with Scott Arfield and Ryan Kent both being denied by excellent saves from Ofir Marciano in the Hibs net.
Also, there was a distinct suspicion of offside against Martin Boyle in the build up to Hib’s second goal, with replays showing that it should have been ruled out.
The stats do show that Rangers slightly under performed defensively regardless though.
For example, Rangers have won on average 51.7% of their slide tackles this season, but won only 42.86% of them against Hibs, as per Wyscout.
Similarly, the Gers only won 46.67% of their aerial duels at Easter Road, as shown in the map below, compared to the 52.6% they have been averaging this season.
There may not seem to be much difference in that stats here, but it is in these fine margins where games, and titles, can be won and lost.
More generally in the team, the passing accuracy vs Hibs was 87.63%, down from the season average of 88.3%, and the accuracy of passes into the final third was 74.63%, way down from the season average of 79.3%.
Again, it doesn’t seem like there is a huge drop in quality here, but it just shows how Rangers will have to keep up their high standards if they are to challenge Celtic for the league this season.
Gerrard’s side cannot afford to slack off at any point.
The Gers also had less possession than they’ve been used to this season, having 65.42% of the ball at Easter Road, compared to their usual 67.95%.
Credit to Hibernian though, they managed more shots on target against Rangers than any other team has this season, with five of their seven shots forcing a save from Jon McLaughlin.
Without a doubt, this was the biggest and most stringent challenge that the Gers have faced so far this season.
Worryingly, the stats reflect how even a small drop in quality can have notable repercussions on the pitch, and Rangers will know that they need to be sharper when they face Celtic in the first Old Firm of the season next month.
In other Rangers news, ‘Like a pub player’, ‘Rotten’ – These Rangers fans savage one player after 2-2 v Hibs.