How multi-purpose John Lundstram 'directed attacks' and stifled Union's playmaking captain

Greek referee Tasos Sidiropoulos was handed the responsibility of navigating the thunderous Ibrox atmosphere, exactly a year on since he gave John Lundstram his marching orders in Rangers’ edgy 1-0 victory over Alashkert in Europa League qualifying in Govan.

And while the man in the middle may have remained the same from that fraught evening at Ibrox twelve months ago, the career trajectory of the man in the middle of Rangers’ midfield couldn’t appear more different.

Indeed, while it was Malik Tillman who stole the headlines for his coming-of-age performance in helping Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side secure a Champions League play-off showdown with PSV Eindhoven, Lundstram provided the foundations for the Gers to produce their rousing turnaround. “We know the fire John has in these moments,” noted the Gers boss after the match.

The visit of the Belgian outfit seen a continuation of the man-orientated defensive approach that provided the foundations for van Bronckhorst in his side’s famous victories over Braga and RB Leipzig at Ibrox en route to the Europa League final last term.

Ryan Kent and Antonio Colak would press from out-to-in, keeping Union’s extremely wide centre-backs in their cover shadows, before prompting a long, searching pass from the opposition goalkeeper. Rangers were keen to force quick turnovers as they sought to overturn the two-goal deficit from last week.

Lundstram, meanwhile, was tasked with tracking Union’s captain and midfield playmaker, Teddy Teuma. The Maltese international would vary his movements when his goalkeeper had possession of the ball, remaining high and advanced in midfield or dropping deep to offer a short passing option.

In both scenarios, Lundstram was equal to his movements to prevent the midfielder from receiving the ball.

The former Sheffield United man held the upper hand throughout the evening in the individual duel, proving sharper to second balls in order to sustain the tempo for Rangers in possession.

Teuma struggled to influence the game and failed provide the control in possession that Union required. The midfielder struggled to get on the ball in the centre of the pitch amid Rangers’ man-orientated defensive approach…

While his passes were predominantly concentrated in the wide areas.

On the ball, Lundstram aided Rangers’ ability to switch the direction of their attacks, a facet of the game that van Bronckhorst’s side lacked in the first leg in Belgium.

READ MORE: How Rangers' makeshift 'second-pivot' exploited Union's determined defence

A blanket could have been thrown around the Gers’ main passing connections that evening, with the away side struggling to connect with the left-hand side of the pitch to exploit the underload created.

Restored to the midfield in place of Ryan Jack, Lundstram targeted the space that existed on the sides of Union’s compact midfield trio.

There was a moment in the 32nd minute that typified the midfielder’s influence in directing attacks for his side.

As he collects the ball from James Sands infront of Union’s first line of pressure, he spots James Tavernier motoring forward on the right.

The 28-year-old then delivers a perfectly-weighted diagonal pass towards the Rangers skipper.

Lundstram moves up to support the attack as the home side shift possession back inside, allowing Union’s midfield line to recover goal side. Tavernier feeds the ball into Lundstram, who intelligently allows the pass to run across his body to open up passing options towards the opposite side of the pitch.

With Union’s narrow midfield three having shifted over to their left to combat Rangers, Lundstram finds Tom Lawrence in the aforementioned space on the outside of Union’s midfield line.

The former Derby County skips inside his marker before firing a dangerous effort at goal.

Upon receiving, Lundstram was constantly scanning in the opposition direction as he sought to release Rangers’ crossfield threats on the left-hand side.

READ MORE: Detailed Rangers player ratings as brilliant Malik Tillman completes stunning Ibrox comeback

Here, he glances over his shoulder before receiving the ball from Tavernier.

Lundstram strides into the space in the centre circle, before releasing Kent with a lofted pass in-behind Union’s defensive line.

The execution is slightly off as Kent fails to take the ball in his stride, but the idea was correct.

“John was really important,” van Bronckhorst highlighted post-match. “He kept the pressure on in midfield and provided balance.”

Rangers’ pass map from the victory highlights the depth that Lundstram provided in midfield, supplementing the more advanced Lawrence and Scott Arfield.

The midfielder nearly capped off his performance with a goal by arriving from his deeper position.

His capacity to progress the ball into the unoccupied spaces, against a Union defensive block that posed Rangers several problems last week, allowed the home side to retain their tempo. Although the intensity dropped out of the side for ten minutes either side of the interval, the home side still boasted the midfield balance to help punch holes in Union’s structure. Tom Lawrence’s cross-field pass for Tavernier in the lead up the second goal illustrates that.

“We wanted midfield domination,” said van Bronckhorst. “That’s why we played with Tom [Lawrence] and Malik [Tillman] inside with Arfield. We wanted to try and create more chances than we did last week.”

Lundstram certainly played his part in helping to achieve that.

It was a performance that Rangers fans have begun to take for granted on these European nights. But it makes it all the more remarkable considering the place that Lundstram inhabited among the Gers support less than a year ago.

As he shook the referee’s hand at full-time, he would have been forgiven for offering his thanks to the Greek official. The wake-up call that the red card against Alashkert provided him certainly proved the turning point in his Rangers career.