James McFadden absolutely loved what ‘unpredictable’ Fashion Sakala Jr did during 4-1 Rangers win v Hibernian
James McFadden has praised the “unpredictable” nature of Fashion Sakala after his man of the match display in Rangers 4-1 win over Hibernian.
Gers dominated proceedings at Easter Road thanks to goals from James Tavernier, Sakala and a brace from Antonio Colak, with Michael Beale’s side turning in one of their best performances of the season.
But the Zambia international was the star of the show and while appearing on BBC Sportscene (13:17, 8 March), McFadden singled out the “brilliant” Sakala for his end product and constant running.
“He’s willing to run, we know that,” he said. “It’s a real strength, his unpredictability.
“I think he linked really well with Antonio Colak. When you’re a forward with the pace that he’s got and you’re willing to run, it causes defenders headaches all over the place.
“Hibs I think were a bit too open, they were massively open. They were obviously going to try and take the game to Rangers, try and get bodies forward and put them under pressure.
“But what happened was Rangers exploited the gaps. Sakala was on all night on the left hand side, and that’s a brilliant end product. The speed of the counter is excellent.
“Because of how unpredictable he is, you look at that and think you should take that on to your right foot to get a shot away.
“But he has a little look over his shoulder, and it’s a brilliant little turn and it was a brilliant finish as well.
“He was just a constant threat with his running and at the heart of everything good for Rangers.”
Brilliant
Sakala has come into this Rangers side since the arrival of Beale and made himself absolutely undroppable with his performances.
In 11 league starts for the Ibrox side, he has got five goals and six assists since Beale re-joined the club as manager, and his ability to play across the front line is perfect for the way the manager wants to play.
His link-up play has improved massively, his in-game understanding has pushed beyond what many Rangers fans believed was possible with him, and he is now one of the first names on the teamsheet.
For Rangers now, his pace and unpredictability is something that will really help the team unlock opposition defences and Beale has figured out a perfect way to get the most from him and the team at the same time.
He seems like the easiest player to drop out of the side on paper once the summer rolls around, but with performances like these becoming a constant, fans wouldn’t be happy to see that happen.
In other Rangers news, an official club partner was furious with an “absolutely scandalous” moment in Rangers win v Hibs.