Ben Wild

Sat 14 November 2020 11:33, UK

Rangers defender Leon Balogun turned in a stellar performance against Sierra Leone while on international duty with Nigeria. 

The Super Eagles drew 4-4 with Sierra Leone which doesn’t look good for the Nigerian defence but Balogun was withdrawn in the 62nd minute as his side led 4-1.

The late collapse had nothing to do with the Gers defender and if anything, it shows how well he had been playing and how vital he was to the impressive early performance by his country.

The stats also show how impressive the 32-year-old was during Friday’s international match.

Defensively, he was brilliant. According to Wyscout, Balogun won 100% of his aerial duels and 100% of his total defensive duels.

He also made three interceptions and managed to avoid giving away any fouls. Balogun dealt with anything that came his way and without him, the Super Eagles may have fallen to an embarrassing defeat.

The 32-year-old was also good with his feet. He registered a 90% passing accuracy and a 76% accuracy for his forward passes as he looked to help out his attack.

His heat map showed he played in a fairly advanced position for a centre back as Nigeria laid siege to Sierra Leone in the first half. The heatmap suggests Balogun actually played the majority of his football in the midfield.

It bodes well for Rangers that Balogun can excel in this position as his club side regularly play with a high line while dominating against weaker Scottish clubs.

Overall, 85% of Balogun’s total attempted actions against Sierra Leone were successful meaning he rarely put a foot wrong in what was a brilliant individual performance from the Gers man.

Gers fans will be pleased he got through the game without picking up an injury and managed to turn in such a solid performance ahead of him rejoining his Ibrox teammates later next week.

In other news, some Rangers fans have reacted after footage emerged of an outrageous pass from one of the Gers’ international representatives.