Bajrami disappoints again, Tavernier stars – Rangers player ratings v Union SG
Philippe Clement will have been hugely impressed with his team’s performance as Rangers secured a 2-1 win over Union St Gilloise on Thursday night.
Nico Raskin headed the Gers into a 1-0 lead, latching onto James Tavernier’s deep cross at the back post, before Cyriel Dessers had a goal controversially ruled offside on 30 January.
Ibrox finally let out a sigh of relief when Vaclav Cerny doubled the Gers’ lead, grabbing his 13th goal in Light Blue since joining on loan, though Kevin Mac Allister added some jeopardy with a goal six minutes from time.
Ibrox News rated each player’s performance out of 10.
Jack Butland – 5
Made a crucial save before an even more important block by James Tavernier. Was only called up a few times but remained focused, though should have done better for USG’s goal.
Leon King (Off for Ross McCausland 14′) – N/A
Massively disappointing night for the young defender, who was brought off within 15 minutes because of an earlier hit in the head. A gutting moment for King.
Robin Propper – 7
A solid performance at the back from Propper, who has seriously improved over the last few weeks. Lined up next to Tavernier, instead of Clinton Nsiala, but remained calm and stood tall.
James Tavernier – 9
An incredible performance from the 33-year-old. Trusted by Clement out of position, played a vital role in the opening goal and made a crucial block to deny USG a clear goal. Barely put a foot wrong.
Jefte – 7
Won nearly every battle thrown at him at full-back, continuing to add more danger to the Gers’ forward line and lending a helping hand to an unusual centre-back pairing.
Nico Raskin – 7
Got Ibrox rocking with his early headed goal, stealing in at the back post to fire home Tavernier’s pin-point cross. Won several key battles in the middle of the park and continues to be a dominant force.
Mohamed Diomande – 5
A very quiet performance from the midfielder following the controversial ending to Rangers’ win over Dundee United, one which saw him red-carded before being rescinded. Maybe took the wind out of his sails.
Nedim Bajrami (Off for Paul Nsio 80′) – 4
Much like Diomande, Bajrami was extremely quiet, and disappointingly, many supporters expected another below-par from the former Sassuolo man. Need to see much more from him.
Hamza Igamane (Off for Zak Lovelace 80′) – 5
Always active, and always looking to bring the ball forward, but he almost found trying to do too much at times – giving the ball away in dangerous areas and losing too many battles, one of which saw him pick up a yellow card.
Vaclav Cerny (Off for John Souttar 63′) – 7
Started the match rather rocky, going invisible for much of the first half but his second-half goal helped the Gers to an important 2-0 victory at Ibrox.
Cyriel Dessers – 8
Totally took the spotlight from his attacking teammates. Grabbed a well-earned assist for Cerny’s goal, always making positive runs and putting every bit of energy he had into the match for the Light Blues.
Substitutes
Ross McCausland (On for King 14′) – 5
Really struggled against the USG attack, picking up a yellow card just 20 minutes after coming on, but massively improved after moving forward.
John Souttar (On for Cerny 63′) – 7
A solid performance from the centre-back. All the more impressive during his first appearance back after a long-term injury suffered earlier this season.
Paul Nsio (On for Bajrami 80′) – N/A
Zak Lovelace (On for Igamane 80′) – N/A
In other Rangers news, Chris Sutton has mooted an Ibrox return for Steven Gerrard following his El-Attifaq exit.
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