When Fashion Sakala Jr. became Rangers’ first addition of the summer transfer window, joining on a free transfer after a promising spell at KV Oostende in Belgium, it was immediately clear how Steven Gerrard planned to use him in the team.
Indeed, the Rangers manager spoke openly during the summer that he wanted to introduce more “speed” to his squad, with the powerful John Lundstram arriving shortly after, which likely owed to the manner of their Europa League exit last term to Slavia Prague. Rangers weren’t so much outclassed on the evening as they were outmuscled by an athletically superior Slavia outfit.
The early indications confirm that Sakala will be Gerrard’s go-to man in European fixtures, with his only full 90-minute appearance coming away to Sparta Prague in the recent Europa League defeat.
The Rangers Review takes a closer look at the Zambian’s display that evening.
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Stretching the pitch
It was immediately evident in the early exchanges in Prague that Rangers wanted to use Sakala as the focal point to beat Sparta’s man-orientated defensive structure in midfield. The Zambian was highly involved throughout the contest, recording 87 actions in his 94 minutes on the pitch. As a comparison, Sakala had 51 actions the previous weekend in the 1-1 home draw with Motherwell when, despite playing just under 20 fewer minutes, Rangers had greater command of the ball than they did in the Czech Republic.
The breadth of Sakala’s touches, highlighted in his touch map, illustrate the forward’s promising ability to move laterally and offer a direct passing option from deeper areas of the pitch.
The example below from Leon Balogun’s direct pass out of the backline in the first half shows the Zambian’s potential with his back to goal.
As the Rangers defender floats an aerial pass towards Sakala, he uses his body efficiently to bump the Sparta defender and create a yard of space to comfortably take the ball down, allowing Rangers to establish possession inside the Sparta half.
A common ploy for Rangers was to use Sakala’s speed down the sides to get the team up the pitch. Kemar Roofe, operating alongside the Zambian in the forward line, would often gravitate towards the left-hand side given Joe Aribo’s occupation of the opposite flank, and act as a decoy to free Sakala in behind.
In the example below Borna Barisic picks up the ball as Roofe (circled) pulls the Sparta right-back forward.
This creates separation between the right back and right-centre back in the Sparta backline, allowing Barisic to clip the ball into Sakala who is able to isolate his marker and burst down the flank into a good area.
Improving situational awareness
After Sparta took the lead on the evening, however, they could afford to drop their defensive line deeper to guard against the threat of Sakala’s pace. The Zambian was slow to adapt accordingly, often still looking to penetrate with runs in behind despite the Sparta central defenders being more prepared to drop with him.
As illustrated below, Rangers find themselves in a similar situation to how they started the game, with a defender looking to bypass short passing options into midfield and float a pass towards Sakala.
However, the Sparta backline has dropped deep, which affords their centre-back the license to drop back and comfortably deal with the floated ball. Even if the Zambian is able to win his duel, there are no Rangers midfielders within the vicinity to collect the second ball due to Sparta’s deeper defensive positioning.
In this instance, Sakala could vary his movement by dropping off the forward line into the vast space between the lines to receive the ball. This would create a knock-on effect on the behaviour of the Sparta backline, who would now be equally wary of the threat of Sakala receiving in the space in front of them.
Untapped aerial potential
What was also on evidence over the 90 minutes in Prague was Sakala’s aerial ability. In fact, the forward won just over 80% of his aerial duels on the evening, which shows his ability to compete in the air with physically imposing central defenders in Europe.
The Zambian is most commonly renowned for his speed across the ground, but he is able to leverage that to consistently gain the upper hand in aerial duels, as evidenced below.
As Roofe flicks the ball on towards Sakala, he uses his flexibility to time his leap expertly and win the resulting header.
A one-on-one opportunity would likely have presented itself were the Zambian not to lose his footing while attempting to chase his own flick-on.
There was also a similar instance in stoppage time as Rangers threw the ball forward in search of an equaliser. Sakala was able to spring above his marker in the air to create a good opening for Rangers.
This was perhaps the most encouraging aspect of Sakala’s performance on the night. His threat in the air will be a useful asset as Rangers revert to a more direct approach in Europe, and it perhaps explains why Steven Gerrard sanctioned the loan exit of Cedric Itten. The Swiss boasts excellent hold-up qualities and aerial ability, but he obviously doesn’t possess the speed which Sakala offers in tandem.
Curbing his enthusiasm
That speed brought the ire of the Rangers faithful on occasion in Prague when he was flagged offside on three separate instances. For comparison purposes, Morelos has averaged just 1.28 offsides per 90 minutes in the Europa League in the previous three seasons.
The obvious rebuttal to that is that Sakala is an inherently quicker player than the Colombian, and thus is more likely to be caught offside.
The example below from stoppage time as Rangers worked the ball into a promising area cuts right to the heart of Sakala’s issue in the final third, where he instinctively plays on one’s toes and is always looking to accelerate away from defenders.
As Tavernier contests an aerial duel with the Sparta left-back, Sakala intelligently spots the space in behind in anticipation of a flick-on.
However, Morelos’ header is directed towards Tavernier and, as the Rangers captain dribbles towards goal, Sakala has edged himself too close to goal which allows the Sparta defensive line to step up and play him offside.
Where does it leave us?
On a superficial level, many Rangers fans will have been left disappointed with Sakala’s display in Prague. The forward had one shot on goal, only three touches in the penalty area – albeit in a stale attacking performance from the side – and in some eyes undermined a few promising openings with poorly-timed runs.
However, by delving deeper it allows us to identify promising signs. Sakala’s agility underpinned his promising aerial numbers, and his searing pace across the ground bought Rangers crucial yardage with defenders wary of the Zambian’s speed and less likely to take risks clearing the ball.
Gerrard will quietly be encouraged by Sakala’s outing in Prague, and it will be interesting to witness his evolution in European games going forward.
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