James Murray

Sun 12 November 2023 14:07, UK

Rangers secured all three points following a comfortable victory away at Livingston on Sunday (12 November).

A Cyriel Dessers opener in the first half was complemented by a James Tavernier penalty after the break to earn the Gers a 2-0 win.

The Light Blues captain did, however, miss from the spot in the first half, but it didn’t matter too much in what was a relatively straightforward afternoon for Philippe Clement’s side.

Here Ibrox News rates the Rangers players for their performances out of 10 against Livingston.

Jack Butland – 6

It was a pretty comfortable afternoon for Butland as Livingston only had one shot on target throughout the game. The keeper will be delighted to have recorded another clean sheet, but he’ll have much busier days in a Gers shirt.

James Tavernier – 6

The Rangers captain surprisingly missed from the spot in the first half as his effort went wide of the right-hand post before he stepped up again and found the back of the net from 12 yards in the second half. He was pretty wasteful on the ball, though, as he recorded just a 74 per cent pass success rate and gave away the ball on 28 occasions [SofaScore].

Connor Goldson – 6

Goldson will have been disappointed to see his goal ruled out in the first half when Dessers was adjudged to be offside in the build-up before the defender tapped home into an empty net. Although he didn’t make any tackles or interceptions, the Englishman won all four of his duels.

Leon Balogun – 7

After breaking into the side under Clement, it was another excellent performance from Balogun as he was dominant throughout the afternoon. The Nigerian international won 11 of his 13 duels, while also making two tackles and two interceptions as he continues to prove why he should be starting for the side.

Borna Barisic – 5

It was a reasonable performance for Barisic, even if he wasn’t very productive going forward. The Croatian had several touches of the ball, but he only found a teammate with one of his nine crosses into the box.

Ryan Jack (Off for Cifuentes ‘ 89) – 6

The midfielder was tidy on the ball as he recorded an 86 per cent pass success rate for the Gers. But he didn’t offer too much going forward as he had just one shot off target and failed to win a single duel.

John Lundstram – 7

Lundtsram was excellent in midfield as he did the dirty work in front of the defence and tied things together. He won seven out of his eight duels and recorded an 85 per cent pass success rate after having 76 touches of the ball.

Ross McCausland (Off for Cantwell ’77) – 8

The winger added an injection of pace and won a penalty when he went down under a challenge from Shamal George, with Tavernier missing the resulting spot-kick. The Northern Irishman was unfortunate to see an effort ruled out for a foul in the build-up towards the end of the first half. He continued to look a threat after the break before being replaced on 77 minutes.

Tom Lawrence (Off for Lammers ’77) – 7

It was a solid performance from Lawrence as he looks to get more minutes into his legs. He provided creativity down the middle and recorded an excellent assist when he put Dessers through on goal. The attacking midfielder showed why it’s so important that the Gers keep him fit.

Abdallah Sima – (Off for Yilmaz ’89) – 4

It was a pretty disappointing afternoon for the winger by his standards. He struggled to really get going and have an impact on the game after having just 43 touches and recording a 69 per cent pass success rate. He also failed to register a shot on target with his three efforts.

Cyriel Dessers (Off for Danilo ’61) – 7

The forward did well to take advantage of an early error by a Livingston defender, but he should’ve done better as he went through on goal and saw his shot saved by George. Dessers continued his bright first half when he found the back of the net to open the scoring on 26 minutes after showing a turn of pace to get in behind. He continued to look a threat before going off and can be happy with his afternoon.

Substitutes

Danilo (On for Dessers ’61) – 5

Didn’t have too much of an impact after coming on with half an hour left to play. He would have liked to be more involved after having just 18 touches.

Todd Cantwell (On for McCausland ’77) – N/A

Sam Lammers (On for Lawrence ’77) – N/A

Ridvan Yilmaz (On for Sima (’89) – N/A

Jose Cifuentes (On for Jack ’89) – N/A

In other Rangers news, an “alarming” admission by one Gers star has gone under the radar at Ibrox.