Philippe Clement must axe Borna Barisic as torrid stat emerges v Real Betis, he could cost Rangers Scottish League Cup final
Philippe Clement must wield the axe on Borna Barisic as Rangers take on Aberdeen in the Scottish League Cup final after his disasterclass against Real Betis.
Rangers prevailed in an absorbing thriller with the Spanish La Liga outfit to top the group and progress to the competition’s last 16 which takes place in March.
Goals from Abdallah Sima, Cyriel Dessers and a late winner from Kemar Roofe ensured picked up their first-ever away victory over a Spanish team as they kept up their impressive unbeaten record under Clement.
The win on Thursday night (14 December) certainly encapsulates the tremendous progress made under the Belgian coach who has yet to taste defeat as manager at Ibrox since his appointment in October – it is now 10 wins and three draws from his 13 games in charge, a stunning feat.
However, the Gers will certainly be embarking on their most crucial game of recent memory when they take on Aberdeen in the ViaPlay Cup final on Sunday (17 December).
Rangers have a number of injury issues heading into Sunday’s showpiece but it’s another game in which Clement could well be forced into some key changes and one decision he must make is to axe Barisic.
With the Croatian’s contract at Ibrox coming to a close in June 2024, it’s safe to say the Rangers veteran is playing for his future at the club with talks reportedly already taking place over a probable new contract [Dean Jones, 10 December].
However, that certainly doesn’t mean a new deal is guaranteed or set in stone and how he performed against Betis on Thursday night, it won’t be a surprise to see Rangers look to entertain offers in January.
As per SofaScore, the Croat was handed the joint third-lowest score of any player to start the game at the Benito Villamarín Stadium with a 6.4/10 rating and looking over his stats for the game, it’s easy to see why.
Barisic lost the ball 15 times, successfully completed just 58 per cent of his passes, recorded one key pass, completed a torrid 12% of his crosses, 33% of his long balls and lost 100% of his dribble duels in a dreadful display.
Such performances could certainly cost the Gers as they look to pick up their first major trophy in two long years but what might be his saving grace, is that his positional opponent Ridvan Yilmaz doesn’t pull up trees much either.
Clement certainly faces a huge decision ahead.
In other Rangers news, Michael Stewart dropped a “concern” verdict as he predicted the title outcome between the Gers and Celtic.