RANGERS failed to pick up maximum points on their travels for the fourth successive game on Sunday after drawing 1-1 with Dundee United.
In truth, Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men created enough opportunities to win several games but a lack of cutting edge in front of goal coupled with some questionable refereeing calls saw them fall three points behind in the title race.
Using StatsBomb data, the Rangers Review brings you a unique look back at events at Tannadice.
Trendline
As we can see, Rangers created a glut of chances to win the game, their cumulative xG of 3.30 over Dundee United’s 0.54 tells you it was a game the champions dominated but they simply failed to convert a raft of the opportunities that came their way.
Pass Networks
Rangers’ dominance is highlighted even more so in the passing network illustrations.
We can see that pretty much everything was making its way through Ryan Jack in midfield. It shows you just how pivotal he is to the way the Ibrox club play. He is the driving force and it’s vitally important he remains fit for the remainder of the season if Rangers have designs on retaining their league title.
On the flip side, Scott Arfield had a quiet afternoon, it was perhaps a surprise to see the 33-year-old start the game considering his exploits in Dortmund on Thursday but given the knock sustained by Aaron Ramsey, he was required to go to the well again.
It was no surprise to see him substituted for Fashion Sakala on 58 minutes.
If we take a look at Dundee United’s pass network in comparison, it shows the disparity in terms of the contest, however, they had a game plan to soak up pressure and look to capitalise from set-pieces and it worked.
Shot Maps
It will be a concern that the Tangerines only had three attempts on goal inside the Rangers penalty area yet scored from a Ross Graham header that could’ve been defended better.
As much as that will disappoint the Rangers coaching staff, the chances passed up will frustrate even more so.
When quizzed what his overriding emotion was after the game, van Bronckhorst told Sky Sports: “Disappointment that we didn’t win here.
“I don’t know how many chances we created, I think the most of the season.
“Eventually, you have to score them. That’s what we didn’t do and that’s why we lost points.”
The Dutchman is right, the shot map tells you the story of a lack of cutting edge and Dundee United defending for their lives. To only score once from 28 attempts is a poor conversion rate and whether it can be put down to ‘One of those days’, Rangers can’t afford any repeat displays.
With the goal they did score, Joe Aribo finished well, the xG of 0.18 shows it wasn’t an easy chance to convert but the Nigerian fired into the roof of the net to set up a grandstand finish.
In terms of United’s goal, Graham was able to power a header into the bottom corner from a corner from close range. As much as the 21-year-old has shown great determination to meet the cross, there are still questions to be asked of the Rangers defence; Should Filip Helander have done more to prevent the goal and could Allan McGregor have commanded his area better?
Either way, the Light Blues created enough chances afterwards to put the game to bed.
Conclusion
It was a frustrating afternoon in Tayside for Rangers, they did everything in their power to take home all three points, but simply lacked a cutting edge in front of goal coupled with the fact Bobby Madden missed two blatant penalty calls that would’ve changed the course of the game.
The performance will give hope Rangers can claw back Celtic and go on to reclaim their league title but a failure to kill teams off may come back to haunt them.
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