Glasgow Rangers bounced back from their frustrating draw last weekend by returning to winning ways in the Scottish Premiership at Ibrox on Saturday afternoon.
The Light Blues had been left annoyed by a 2-2 draw with Dundee at Dens Park, after an error from Dan Neil gifted the hosts a leveller in the second half.
Thankfully, Derek McInnes‘ players reacted well to that draw and produced a sublime performance in a 4-0 win over St. Johnstone in their latest Premiership outing.
£9m summer signing Kevin Kelsy played a key role in the win over the Saints, as he scored the first and third goals in the victory for the Scottish giants.
How Kevin Kelsy made the difference for Rangers
The Venezuela international had been left on the bench for the 2-2 draw with Dundee last weekend, despite the fact that he had scored in the 3-1 win over Kilmarnock as a starter in the game before that.
Rangers missed his physical presence at Dens Park, which meant that the attacking midfield and wide players struggled to get into the game at times without the platform that he provides.
Against St. Johnstone, though, the Gers created a whopping eight ‘big chances’ and 4.57 xG by using the towering number nine’s physicality to bring the other attacking players into the match.
|
Vs St. Johnstone |
Kevin Kelsy |
|---|---|
|
Minutes |
83 |
|
Shots |
7 |
|
Goals |
2 |
|
Big chances missed |
2 |
|
Key passes |
1 |
|
Big chances created |
0 |
|
Ground duels won |
1/1 |
|
Aerial duels won |
4/6 |
He dominated the Saints defenders in physical duels, winning five of his seven contests, and that allowed him to get plenty of shots off, scoring two goals and missing two ‘big chances’.
Rangers signed Kelsy to be a nuisance to defenders with his frame and mobility, to go along with his goal threat, and he has lived up to the hype so far.
Rangers have a more valuable player than Kelsy
Despite scoring two of the club’s four goals, the 22-year-old centre-forward was not the best performer for the Scottish giants against St. Johnstone at Ibrox this weekend.
Ryan Naderi was the star of the show for the Light Blues with his performance in the second striker role for McInnes’ side, as he was even better than Kelsy.
The Czechia international struggled in the lone striker role against Dundee, failing to score or assist any goals, but he looked far more at home in his second striker position against St. Johnstone.
When he has a physical striker to play off, like Kelsy, the former Hansa Rostock star looks like the most valuable player in the team with his attacking contributions.
Naderi won seven duels, two more than Kelsy, and created two ‘big chances’ and three chances overall for the team, creating the joint-most ‘big chances’ on the pitch.
Astonishingly, the Rangers star created a chance with every successful pass that he made in 69 minutes on the pitch, completing three passes and creating three chances.
|
Rangers player ratings vs St. Johnstone |
|
|---|---|
|
Player |
Rating |
|
Ivor Pandur |
6 |
|
Dujon Sterling |
7 |
|
Emmanuel Fernandez |
7 |
|
Olwethu Makhanya |
7 |
|
James Penrice |
6 |
|
Nico Raskin |
8 |
|
Dan Neil |
6 |
|
Badredine Bouanani |
6.5 |
|
Ryan Naderi |
9 |
|
Min-su Kim |
8 |
|
Kevin Kelsy |
8.5 |
It was a 9/10 performance from the second striker because he offered physicality, mobility, creativity, and scored a goal of his own to put Rangers 2-0 up.
Naderi’s superb run down the left channel also opened the space for the Gers to score the opening goal of the game, as he then played a perfect pass over to Kelsy to make it 1-0.
The 23-year-old star now ranks first for ‘big chances’ created (three), first for distance covered per 90 (10.5 km), first for goals (five), first for goal contributions (seven), and second for assists (two) within the Gers squad in the league this season.
He looks like the most valuable player at Ibrox because of the phenomenal impact that he continues to make at the top end of the pitch, with his statistics showing that he has been the most impactful player in the squad.
Naderi has found his home in the second striker position for the Gers and McInnes must continue to allow him to shine in that role, rather than playing him as a lone number nine, as was the case against Dundee.
