Aribo shines as Barisic flops at 4/10 – Rangers player ratings v Hearts
Rangers secured a massive three points at Tynecastle on Sunday as they beat Hearts 2-0 in the Scottish Premiership.
Alfredo Morelos and Joe Aribo both scored in what was an impressive first-half spell by Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side.
Rangers had other chances to score after the break and build on their lead as Hearts finished the game with 10 men when Josh Ginnelly was sent off for two yellow cards.
Here, Ibrox News rates the players out of 10 for their performances:
Allan McGregor – 8
Rangers have McGregor to thank for not going behind early on when the goalkeeper produced a superb finger-tip save. It would have been a far different game had the Gers crumbled under that opening bit of pressure. McGregor was vital.
James Tavernier – 5
Again, it wasn’t a strong performance by Tavernier as calls for Nathan Patterson to start continue to grow louder among Gers fans. Tavernier’s passing left a lot to be desired and Hearts didn’t find it difficult to attack down the flanks due to the captain’s struggling display.
Connor Goldson – 8
Goldson’s had a lot of criticism this season but there’s no way we can talk down the big centre-back’s performance at Tynecastle. His long-range pass to Ryan Kent kickstarted the move for the first goal before he bagged an assist with a superb, over-the-top pass to Aribo. He also defended quite well in what was perhaps his strongest display of the season.
Calvin Bassey – 5
Bassey struggled at times against Hearts’ attack. His positioning and man-marking wasn’t great at all and if we were against a better side, he would have been found out a lot more.
Borna Barisic – 4
When will Barisic learn to stop crosses being delivered into the box? Hearts attacked well down the wings on Sunday but they were helped out a lot by Barisic’s poor defensive display. We’re struggling to remember the last time the Croatia international impressed us this season.
Glen Kamara – 6
Kamara had a bit of urgency about his performance against Hearts, something which was lacking badly during Steven Gerrard’s time at Ibrox this season. He dropped back a lot, slotting into the defence and did a steady job deep in the midfield.
Scott Arfield – 6
Arfield missed an absolute sitter in the second half and that could have really killed off the match way sooner. However, he got forward well, interchanging with Aribo.
Joe Aribo – 9 (Man of the match)
Rangers’ player of the season just keeps getting better and better. Hearts’ defence struggled to cope with the Nigeria international’s runs and his goal was absolutely exquisite. After Goldson’s brilliant long-range pass, Aribo’s touch and finish were magic. We’ll find it tough without Aribo when he’s at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Fashion Sakala – 7
He plays with a smile on his face – and he puts one on ours. Morelos has Sakala to thank for his goal after a superb bit of pace and skill before finding the Colombian with a pass. We love everything about this guy.
Ryan Kent – 8
Kent tore it up against Hearts at Tynecastle. He showed great pace, skill and forward-thinking as van Bronckhorst’s men picked up a massive three points in Edinburgh. He’s such a good player for this league and we’re grateful he’s escaped from the rut he was in earlier this season.
Alfredo Morelos – 8
Morelos should be happy with his performance in the capital. He combined so well with Kent, Sakala and Aribo and Hearts really struggled to have an answer for them.
Substitutes:
Scott Wright (on for Morelos, ’72) – 5
John Lundstram (on for Sakala, ’83) – N/A
In other Rangers news, the Gers will require big money for this “game-changer” in the January window, according to a BBC Sportsound pundit.