Rangers fail to 'dictate with quality' as Aberdeen's territorial dominance punishes passive showing

Rangers’ lack of control at any given point in the encounter was clear to the naked eye and reaffirmed by underlying numbers. They played fewer passes, saw Aberdeen double their own xG total and well underperformed their average pass percentage.

Trendline 

All of these factors combined to form a game of low quality that the hosts dominated. A glance at the trendline stipulates another key factor, the decision to move to a deep midfield three on 64 minutes invited a barrage of pressure.

They were unable to mount sustained pressure on the hosts' goal and hardly created after the break.

Pass networks 

Although Ianis Hagi started as the team’s No.10, James Sands moved forwards at points on the right to support James Tavernier and Scott Wright from his midfield berth.

The team played with natural width, however, their attacks lacked conviction without the forward runs of Joe Aribo and Scott Arfield.

READ MORE: Rangers must reset, regroup and respond after sub-standard Pittodrie performance - Stevie Clifford

The home team prioritised attacks down their left and were able to create central overloads behind the visiting midfield thanks to Ryan Hedges' inverting and Teddy Jenks' dropping off from the front.

Shot maps

The visitors’ xG total of 0.67 was largely owing to Hagi’s first-half strike which had a value of 0.41. Concerningly, Alfredo Morelos’ blocked effort on 25 minutes was the highest-value chance goal aside at 0.08xG.

Van Bronckhorst was quick to reaffirm post-match that Allan McGregor enjoyed a reasonably quiet evening and the chance creation statistics reaffirm this. Penalty aside, the home side only shaded the xG battle with a tally of 0.72.

Pressure maps 

The league leaders rarely tried to progress possession through the middle of the pitch and the pressures recorded by their opponents demonstrates where threats were posed. Switches of play to either flank bore some success throughout the 90.

Their pass completion of 75%, well below their average away from home of 82%, shows how poor Rangers were with the ball; partly down to the home team's set-up as well as a lack of combinations in the attacking phase.

The deeper location of the home team's pressure map is proof of Aberdeen's territorial disadvantage – however, they were more compact centrally thanks to the inclusion of Sands alongside Kamara at the base of midfield than in a 2-0 win over Hearts.

Conclusion

That encounter at Tynecastle featured more dramatic saves from McGregor as a number of clear chances were conceded. And while a similar barrage wasn’t forthcoming in the North-East, the lack of offensive quality on show from the Scottish champions left them without clear avenues forward and always holding onto a 1-0 advantage.

The substitution only further compounded the possessional dominance Aberdeen enjoyed and conclusively, Rangers will be relieved to have secured a point.