Rangers player ratings v St Johnstone: Fabio Silva and Oscar Cortes terrible
Rangers ousted Celtic on top of the table as they picked up a 3-0 victory against St Johnstone in the SPFL on Sunday, 18 February.
Mohamed Diomande opened the scoring for the visitors, finding the back of the net for the first time as a Gers player.
James Tavernier then scored two second-half penalties to put the result beyond all doubt for Philippe Clement’s side.
Here are the player ratings for the game:
Jack Butland – 7
According to Sofascore, he did not need to make a single save but still kept a clean sheet. The only activity was a high claim but that is not to say he did not marshal his defence well. Whenever he had the ball in possession, he showed composure one would want from a modern-day goalkeeper with a pass accuracy north of 90 per cent.
The Rangers skipper shows no nerves from the spot
James Tavernier – 7
Showed no nerves in the second half with his penalty putting the visitors two goals ahead. It was a penalty and the Englishman struck the ball well into the back of the net. Apart from that, it was a rather ineffective game as he struggled to connect with his crosses and some of his passes were also wayward. With his second penalty, he went to the other side and scored his 120th goal for the club.
Connor Goldson – 7
Ensured that the goalkeeper had no saves to make as he was superb at the heart of defence. He won 10 out of his 13 attempted aerial duels and made five important clearances. Made John Souttar also look better and was always there in and out of possession.
John Souttar – 7
Won eight of eight of his duels – six of them being in the air. He let absolutely nothing past him and while Goldson did make him look better, he offered a much-needed balance to the defence. It’s fair to say he’s proven he deserves to be in the first-choice centre-back pairing.
Borna Barisic – 5
Was awry with some of his passes and failed to win a single aerial duel all game. He even lost possession on 11 occasions and had a long-pass accuracy of less than 20 per cent. Ridvan Yilmaz looked sharper after coming on and he deserves to be the first choice.
John Lundstram – 5
Had a quiet game in the middle of the park for Rangers. Made a few questionable decisions in the first half but improved in the second period. However, losing possession 12 times is not impressive at all and a better side would’ve punished them for it.
Mohamed Diomande – 8
It was a great way to open his account for his new side and he struck the ball so well from outside the box with it whistling into the back of the net. The Ivorian even won all of his attempted six ground duels and his pass accuracy was nearly 80 per cent. Diomand even won four tackles so it was a bit of an all-round display from the central midfielder.
Scott Wright – 4
Played just the first 45 minutes and was not too influential down the right wing. Completed just eight passes in the half and lost 75 per cent of his attempted aerial duels. He failed to complete a single cross in the game either and Dujon Sterling was undoubtedly better in that role.
Todd Cantwell – 8
Whenever the ball was in the middle or final thirds, Cantwell looked to be the one either finding space to receive a pass or looking to make things happen himself. Unfortunately, he could not finish the game and there is a suspicion of a hamstring injury as well so the club will be hoping it’s not too serious.
Oscar Cortes still adapting to life at Rangers
Oscar Cortes – 3
The Colombia international had a disappointing game for Rangers and it’s an indicator that he’s new to the league and it is going to take him some more time to adapt. He was second best in terms of most of his duels and failed to get himself involved or enter positions to become a serious goal threat. He even failed to complete any of his three attempted dribbles and had a zero per cent accuracy with his crosses.
Fabio Silva – 3
Surprisingly, he started ahead of Cyriel Dessers and it’s not a decision that Clement will be proud of. During his entire time on the pitch, the Portuguese made just five passes and struggled to get involved in the play. A passing accuracy of 50 per cent is disgraceful and he knows that as well. In the 69 minutes he was on the field, he registered just one effort on goal. Disappointing display.
Substitutes
Dujon Sterling – 6
Tom Lawrence – 5
Ross McCausland – 5
Cyriel Dessers – 4
Ridvan Yilmaz – 5
In other Rangers news, a recent £10m claim has emerged directly having long-term consequences Gers and the supporters will certainly be fuming with it.
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