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Alan Rough: Rangers seem to get bullied from set-pieces in draw v PSV Eindhoven
Alan Rough believes Rangers have to be tighter defensively after their 2-2 draw to PSV Eindhoven in the first leg of their final Champions League qualifier.
Goals from Antonio Colak and Tom Lawrence were not enough for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men to take a lead to the Netherlands as Armando Obispo’s late header rescued a draw for the Eredivisie side.
Rough feels that the Gers are now a soft touch defensively after being so resolute in their run to the Europa League final in the 2021/22 season.
Talking on the PLZ Football Show (17 August, 2:09): Rough said: “They have to be tighter defensively.
“Rangers’ strengths in Europe has been their defence.
“They were very hard to beat and hard to score goals against, particularly at set-pieces where they now seem to get bullied.”
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Defence is key
Rough is bang on in his assessment of where Rangers’ success came from last season, but ultimately, the new campaign has just got underway and there are still some new faces that need to bed into their new surroundings at Ibrox.
Losing a player of Calvin Bassey’s quality was always going to have an impact to van Bronckhorst’s defence.
However, the Rangers boss will still be disappointed to see his side concede from two corners in their draw on Tuesday (16 August) evening.
Connor Goldson and James Sands are both tall and physical players who should provide the Gers with enough to be resolute from corners.
If Rangers do fail to make it to the group stage of the Champions League, then their set-piece defending, particularly in the first leg will be where the fingers will be pointing.
Let’s hope that with more games and more minutes under their belt, the Gers will begin to discover their defensive structure from the 2021/22 campaign.
In other Rangers news, Ross Wilson now has names lined up just in case Alfredo Morelos seals his exit this summer