Rangers vs Motherwell StatsBomb tactical and data-driven match report as wasteful hosts pay price

Steven Gerrard admitted the game should have been a straightforward home win on the basis of the play, but his team were guilty of passing up opportunities with the game at 1-0 and lost their tempo after the equaliser.

They remain top of the Premiership but frustrations persist that the Ibrox side have been unable, as of yet, to give supporters a complete performance.

Diving into the stats, The Rangers Review brings you a full match recap of the game with all the stats, visuals and underlying trends from our data partners at StatsBomb.

xG trendline

The trendline from the match reaffirms how strong a first-half Rangers played.

The continuous jumps in their xG total demonstrates the regularity with which the home side threatened to score. Up until around 60 minutes, this was as one-sided a game as they come.

Concern can be drawn from the lack of tempo after the equaliser, there was no real threat the game would swing back in favour of the hosts following the away goal.

As shown at the top of the trendline, this match results in a home win 80% of the time. Supporters can take encouragement from the improvement middle to front, but the team’s fragility when one goal up is a worry.

The away side also managed to kill plenty of time in the match. Wyscout accounts for 51 minutes of 'dead time' in the game yesterday, and only around 45 minutes of pure possession.

Shots and saves

The home shot map makes for good viewing in terms of location and spread, despite the lack of darker more dangerous efforts.

A few too many efforts were taken from outside the area perhaps, but in general, the team managed to get into good areas continuously.

Fashion Sakala performed very well in the first half and took his goal as a forward should. Anticipating a flick on, he was alive to turn home the opener.

Rangers had an on-target xG of 0.99 and an off-target xG of 1.11, as the save map from Kelly shows, they were guilty of not testing Liam Kelly nearly enough.

Comparison of the shot to save map explains this was not a game in which the visitors held on, but Gerrard’s team dropped points themselves by being wasteful in front of goal.

READ MORE: Rangers have 'had these lessons' before – they should have learned to not be their own undoing

James Tavernier’s shot on 35 minutes had the highest on-target xG value at 0.21.

Kemar Roofe should have scored soon after the break, Kelly’s positioning shows plenty of room was there to hit at the front post, his chance had an xG value of 0.40.

Motherwell’s xG tally of 0.63 largely comes from their goal. Tony Watt didn't pull the trigger in the first half when through on goal so his chance is not valued, but it was a key moment in the game.

Allan McGregor did not make a save in the match, Motherwell’s goal was their first effort on target. The chance had an xG of 0.38 but given the pressure on the ball and quality of the finish, the post-shot xG total stood at 0.86.

Pass network

Rangers almost attacked with a front six yesterday. This perhaps gives some explanation as to why the set-up for the concession of the visiting goal was so poor.

Roofe didn’t have his best game in terms of the end product, but found pockets of space intelligently, aided by the forward runs of Fashion Sakala and Scott Wright.

Pressing

Gerrard's team looked better without the ball yesterday, and the pressure numbers back that up. Old Firm aside, it was the first time this league season they’ve amassed over 100 pressures in a single match with 112 altogether and 23 counterpressures. 

There was a notable change in the intensity of the front three without the ball. 

Against St Johnstone last week, Morelos and Kent made 10 pressures between them whereas on Sunday, Sakala and Wright made double that number.

READ MORE: Rangers' lack of killer instinct proves costly and Juninho Bacuna tipped for more game time - Steven Gerrard's points from the presser

Player focus - Joe Aribo

Joe Aribo had a mixed day.

He took the most shots and made the most key passes at Ibrox, as well as topping the xGchain chart. He did so much right in the game and was normally at the centre of his team's best actions, but often lacked a finish or final ball.

This perhaps provokes a wider concern regarding his numbers. The Nigerian international boasts supreme talent, but at times lacks that aggression with the ball that could see him dominate most matches.

Aribo has taken the most shots in the league of any Rangers player in the league, 13, but boasts an xG/shot of just 0.06.

In open play, he has the highest xG assisted per/90 and is also making the most key passes per 90. Assists are not a great measure of a player's creativity, as there is no difference in the value of a mazy run compared to a one-yard backwards pass.

In that respect, Aribo is creating and heavily involved in his team's attack play, but viewing of yesterday's game showed he can still be more incisive in the final third.

Encouragement can be taken from the back to front play yesterday, elements of which the Rangers manager branded outstanding.

However, the side must begin to recapture ruthless elements of their attacking play to ensure more routine home wins do not turn into missed opportunities.