RANGERS restored their six-point advantage at the top of the Scottish Premiership with ease against St Mirren yesterday in what was Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s most dominant victory since taking over as manager.
First half goals from Scott Wright and Alfredo Morelos sealed the win but it was a scoreline that flattered the Buddies who never looked likely of taking anything from a sparse Ibrox.
The race chart below highlights the gulf between the two teams, St Mirren’s only effort towards goal was a free kick that struck the wall in the first half, this made up their entire xG of the game of just 0.10.
Rangers slightly outscored their cumulative xG of 1.87 but, in truth, had enough chances to win three or four games.
As we can see in the shot map below, the Light Blues had 25 efforts on goal, given there was a sea of red shirts blocking their path to goal, Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men managed seven on target.
You could argue Jim Goodwin’s men deserve some credit for limiting the scoreline in the second period and he was unsurprisingly delighted to keep the score down when he spoke afterwards:
“I don't think many people would have expected us to take a point from Rangers and Celtic given all that has gone on.
“The fact we have only conceded two goals is also incredible.”
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St Mirren, as an attacking threat, were non-existent, Curtis Main had the thankless task as the lone front man but, like every player in a red jersey, was chasing shadows throughout.
Rangers dominated possession with 76% of the share and what highlights their dominance, even more, is the passing stats with 727 completed passes compared to the Paisley side’s paltry 161.
As we can see in the pass network above, it really was the complete team performance with the majority of players featuring heavily. Perhaps the only slight downside was Ianis Hagi not being as influential as he would've liked but, in the main, van Bronckhorst will be satisfied to see so many players contributing.
The visitors shot map and ‘attacking’ radar above illustrate just how much they struggled to impose themselves on the champions.
Scott Wright was deservedly named Man of the Match and he repaid the manager’s faith in starting him with the opening goal.
He occupied the right-hand side and, as he did in the second half of the Dundee United game at Ibrox, he used his lightning pace to beat his man on several occasions and create opportunities.
The illustration below highlights his directness and eagerness to get to the byline.
The only real slight on his game currently is his final ball, often he would do the hard work in beating his man only to fire straight at a red shirt when in a promising position. However, given St Mirren had 11 players camped within 20 yards of their goal for large periods, it’s perhaps understandable.
On the issue of beating the low block, Wright addressed its difficulties in his post-match interview to Rangers TV.
He said: “We know we are going to be coming up against it most weeks and it’s just a case of trying to come up with ideas and be creative to break that down. There is an onus on me as an attacking player to do that.”
The 24-year-old has been given an opportunity by van Bronckhorst to nail down that ring wing position and based on his last two displays, it’s very much Wright’s shirt to lose.
Another important point to note from yesterday’s game is not only Alfredo Morelos’ sixth goal in eight matches but the cross from Borna Barisic to pick out the Colombian for his strike on 26 minutes.
The Croatian has been one of the standout performers under the new management regime, he looks reinvigorated and defensively more robust given he and James Tavernier aren’t bombing forward as much.
His assist for Morelos was vintage Barisic, a teasing pin-point cross right onto the head of El Bufalo whose effort was parried by Jak Alnwick but he followed up to rifle home.
The chart below shows the combination in the build-up to the goal culminating with Barisic’s cross for Morelos.
Sunday’s win over St Mirren was van Bronckhorst’s seventh in as many league games since taking over from Steven Gerrard, with a solitary goal conceded. He and his coaching team have revitalised this Rangers side who looked lethargic and stale prior to his arrival.
The Dutchman has worked wonders but there is still a lot of work to do, the winter break gives him the opportunity to work with the players on the training field more although it’s a crying shame that trips to Pittodrie and Parkhead have been rescheduled.
The team that takes to the field in those rearranged fixtures may look different given the January transfer window is just around the corner but Rangers supporters have every right to feel positive heading into 2022.
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