Rangers: Nasser Djiga and Emmanuel Fernandez experiment must end after loss vs Motherwell
Rangers conceded three arguably avoidable goals against Motherwell in the William Hill Premiership on Sunday.
The first two came after the Steelmen easily bypassed the Gers’ midfield and didn’t experience much resistance from the hosts’ defence.
Motherwell kept on threatening the Light Blues on the counter at Ibrox on 26 April and got their reward in the 90th minute as Emmanuel Longelo scored a late winner.
Danny Rohl kept faith in the partnership of Nasser Djiga and Emmanuel Fernandez at the back, but the German manager surely needs to reconsider things after losing 3-2 at home.
Motherwell’s win at Ibrox has dented the Govan side’s title hopes going into the last four games of the season, with things now out of their hands.
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Rangers needs defensive support in William Hill Premiership
Rohl’s experiment with Djiga and Fernandez has worked at times for the Gers, but recent matches have shown that things may need to change as they’ve conceded nine goals in four matches.
The two centre-backs looked nervy on the ball at times, although the Burkina Faso international managed 100 per cent passing accuracy, won the one tackle he made, two of his three ground duels and one aerial duel, according to Sofascore.
| Statistics | Nasser Djiga | Emmanuel Fernandez |
| Accurate passes | 65/65 (100%) | 51/55 (93%) |
| Defensive contributions | 7 | 3 |
| Ground duels won | 2/3 | 2/3 |
| Aerial duels won | 1/1 | 1/3 |
| Possession lost | 1 | 6 |
As for Fernandez, he arguably wasn’t at his best, failing to win any of his two tackles, losing three of his six duels, losing possession six times and getting the deflection to take Longelo’s shot away from Jack Butland for Motherwell’s eventual winner.
The same centre-back pairing started against Falkirk and conceded three goals, giving the German manager food for thought to bring John Souttar back into the starting lineup and play a three-person defence for the final weeks of the season.
Danny Rohl can’t catch a break at Ibrox
A few weeks back, Rangers fans were worried about their goalscoring prospects going into the crunch part of the season.
Youssef Chermiti and Bojan Miovski have found the back of the net in recent matches, but it’s now the Gers’ defence Rohl needs to worry about.
The German manager has relied on the Light Blues’ solid backline to climb up the table since his appointment, but it’s now failing him.
Rohl doesn’t have time to feel sorry for himself and his main aim should be to beat Hearts and Celtic in the next two games to keep title hopes alive in Govan.
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