How Rangers' substitution caused 'midfield mayhem' and afforded Aberdeen unnecessary control

John Lundstram was introduced for Scott Wright on 64 minutes as Giovanni van Bronckhorst sought to retain the goal advantage his team were enjoying, by increasing the bodies in the centre of the pitch and ensuring any passages of play occurred in front of a low block.

It was a ploy that earned three points, albeit with a large slice of luck, at Tynecastle last month when a lead was protected with the help of Allan McGregor as Hearts' recorded an xG of 1.58 without finding the back of the net. The underlying numbers normally catch up with you and yesterday was no exception.

On this occasion, the move to a deep three-man midfield and removal of a No.10 role afforded greater control to a home side already in the ascendency. Rangers left too many gaps which the home side exploited due to poor horizontal occupation in the midfield, while giving up control of the centre of the park.

“There are things we need to improve so it’s not easy for the opposition to break the lines,” admitted James Tavernier post-match.

Aberdeen’s pass map from the encounter shows the areas they tried to attack, with central overloads the intended mode of ball progression. A move away from the overloading 4-3-3 shape has liberated Rangers since van Bronckhorst’s arrival, however, yesterday the team's lack of cohesion in midfield was notable.

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

Teddy Jenks’ early strike was a warning of the danger Aberdeen could cause with central combinations.

Glen Kamara and James Sands here occupy the same lateral position which leaves a gap in front of the defence Jenks can run into.

This slight vulnerability was further compounded by a move from the starting 4-2-3-1 to a deep 4-3-3 – as Lundstram entered play on 64 minutes. The fault was strcural change rather than individual, however. 

The below second-half pass map includes substitutes and starters and demonstrates how deep Lundstram played comparatively to Hagi. In attempting to solidify the midfield by bringing on another defensive-minded player, Rangers lost control in the area Hagi had been occupying. 

Scott Brown made one pass into the final third before the tactical switch on 64 minutes, a long punt from kick-off, and then contributed eight afterwards. Brown started to control the game due to the time he was afforded on the ball and the territorial advantage the tactical switch offered his team.

In this example, because Hagi (at this point playing on the right) has dropped to track Jonny Hayes, James Sands has to leave Brown unmarked to pressurise Lewis Ferguson – drawing irritation from Lundstram and Tavernier. Notice however that Lundstram isn’t marking anyone and as such Brown can play a ball through the midfield.

The Englishman was unable to offer necessary protection in this area to justify the time and space Brown was afforded. Rangers would have been far wider to try and stop these moves at source by defending higher up the pitch.

Subsequently, the ex-Celtic player can drive forward and slide a pass through the midfield which takes both Kamara and Lundstram out of the game.

Alarmingly, even though the visitors aren’t punished immediately, a passive midfield approach opens up another gap that Aberdeen can play into seconds later. The midfield is again neither here nor there, failing to prevent the pass or protect the space.

Far too often after the tactical change, this lack of pressure on the base of Aberdeen’s midfield led to similar scenarios. On this occasion, Brown finds space to run off of Sands down the line, but Ryan Hedges is wide open centrally.

Notice to the position of Lundstram. This time he is high up the park trying to address the issue but has two men to cover.

READ MORE: How have teams tried to stop Giovanni van Bronckhorst's Rangers and what can we learn from their failures?

Confusion was apparent in the build-up to Aberdeen's penalty over marking responsibilities. Here, Sands is slow to close down Ferguson, Lundstram is pulled out position by the run of Jenks and Hedges drifts infield to pick the ball up behind the midfield.

Later in the game, this same lack of positional understanding allows Aberdeen to build a promising attack. Ideally, in this instance the three midfielders would not all be occupying the same lateral line, if one drops deeper it grants greater positional control of the space - as highlighted.

Brown wasn’t dictating play when under pressure earlier in the game, but afforded complete free reign to find his rotating forwards thereafter as the visiting midfield gave up control. There wasn’t the required compactness and discipline to close off avenues given the lack of pressure on the hosts' captain.

Aberdeen had recorded an xG of just 0.44 by the 64-minute mark, the move to protect came too early in the match.

Game state must be considered, greater risks were taken as time wore on and a ridiculous red card for Ryan Kent left van Bronckhorst with 10 men. However, the Dutchman's tactical alteration gave up control in an area of the pitch that wasn't necessary.