Fashion Sakala stepped up to the Rangers plate v Hibernian, he has to be Michael Beale’s key man going forward
Rangers produced arguably their best attacking play of the campaign in a 4-1 win at Hibernian on Wednesday night, registering their eighth Scottish Premiership win in a row.
The Gers continued their unbeaten run in the Scottish top flight under Michael Beale’s stewardship thanks to goals from James Tavernier, Fashion Sakala and a brace from Antonio Colak.
Whilst Colak may take the headlines with his two goals, taking his tally to an impressive 13 in the Premiership for the season, it was Sakala who proved the decisive factor on the night.
The Zambia international picked up a 9/10 rating for his performance and the underlying stats backed up his attacking dominance at Easter Road.
As per Sofascore, the 25-year-old conjured up a staggering seven key passes and four completed dribbles from five attempts on Wednesday night [8 March].
Also, no Rangers player [WhoScored] is averaging three or more key passes or two or more dribbles per game in the division this term which only goes to prove how crucial Sakala has become for Beale throughout this campaign.
The 25-year-old was heavily criticised for his “other mob” phrase used to describe Celtic before their Viaplay Cup final clash last weekend, and while the player struggled to impress against their Old Firm rivals, he certainly proved to Beale and the Gers that he can still be relied upon when they need it most.
Sakala also impressively won five of his seven individual duels against Hibs as well as recording his sixth and seventh assists of the campaign to help keep up the nine points gap on Celtic at the top of the table.
His flawless pace, vision, technical acumen and attacking unpredictability easily makes him a guaranteed component in Beale’s setup for the long term.
More crucially, with two of the Gers most key stars Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent both facing uncertain futures beyond this season, Wednesday’s game against Hibernian was the night Sakala proved he is worthy of taking up their mantle as the Gers’ MVP for the future.
What a player.
In other Rangers news, an official club partner was furious with an “absolutely scandalous” moment in Rangers win v Hibs.