“We scored four and probably should have scored double that and that's not being disrespectful. We missed big chances tonight. We had some fantastic play and the energy was good. That all comes from the out of possession stuff, really.”

As Michael Beale reflected on the best performance of his Rangers tenure in the Easter Road press room last night, everything returned to his side's work off the ball.

“As impressive as we were with the ball it all came off the work ethic of the whole team, the whole 10 outfield players pressing, running and moving together.”

The visitors had 30 shots and amassed 3.99xG, a total which doesn’t include numerous other attacking moments lacking a final shot. Some of their passages of play were untouchable at best, only a full rewatch of the 90 minutes can do the fluid, interchanging showing with the ball justice.

However, the platform for the lead and flowing football that followed was all about organisation and hard work.

To quote from a presentation Beale gave to the Coaches Voice in 2021: “If you’re more organised you’ll run less, you’ll play with less stress and be ready to attack.”

Make no mistake, the visitors ran themselves into the ground at points in Leith but their entire strategy was connected. They defended with a view of how they would subsequently attack.

Everything in football is interlinked and this attacking display was built off of “the whole 10 outfield players pressing, running and moving together” to regain the ball in "interesting areas" and keep attackers high.

As demonstrated in the visitor’s pass network, the front three were extremely narrow.

Ryan Kent predominantly occupied the No.10 spot behind Fashion Sakala and Antonio Colak. Rangers were banking on Hibs having a go and leaving space, with their narrow shape designed to force the home side into wide areas, before launching attacks through the centre.

As shown in the visitor’s pressure map, they were mainly active by the touchline.

Look at the areas in which Nico Raskin and Todd Cantwell, the two outside midfielders responsible for closing down full-backs and allowing the front three to remain high, applied pressure.

Take this example after 18 minutes. David Marshall has no short passing options with Sakala, Kent and Colak all remaining high, so he looks for a diagonal ball into Chris Cadden, pushing up the pitch from right-back.

But Rangers want him to play this pass and Raskin anticipates it. Now, the visitors are in a position to exploit space down the left side, with Sakala having remained high as opposed to tracking the full-back.

This same pattern would be repeated throughout the game. Look at Sakala’s passes in the final third (with red indicating a successful action). He was consistently able to get into dangerous areas and cut the ball back, setting up both of Colak’s goals.

Eventually, after a number of near-misses, Rangers would capitalise on such a moment.

READ MORE: Rangers' emphatic Hibs win showcased Michael Beale's ideas - Joshua Barrie

As the home side takes a throw-in below, and Cadden looks to burst forwards from right-back, Raskin wins the ball back quickly by the touchline.

Now, with Cadden having pushed forwards and Sakala handed license to remain high, the visitors can launch another attack into space.

The front pairing are effectively in a two-vs-two from the outset, because of their positioning behind the opposition midfield.

Colak curves a brilliant run to the front post to meet Sakala’s left-footed cross and put his side ahead.

As shown in Hibs’ pass network, Lee Johnson’s side also relied on full-backs to provide width. But Rangers won the battle of imposing their style on the game and as a result, the hosts were always trying to play catch up.

In this example, another of the midfield trio, Ryan Jack, is responsible for winning the ball back with Sakala again able to receive in so much space.

This time, Colak can’t take advantage of the cross and probably should've played the ball into Jack’s feet for a clear shot.

All throughout the first-half performance it was Rangers’ structure, pressing by the touchline and imposition that earned chance after chance.

The game was put out of reach by Sakala near the start of the second 45 and although it wasn’t a goal similar to one he created for Colak before the break at a glance, the themes were very similar.

Hibs are forced towards the touchline and then backwards from a throw-in, with no immediate passing options through the pitch. As the ball is played towards Marshall, Sakala chases it down to rush the keeper’s clearance.

The ball only makes it as far as Jack in midfield and the visitors have an open road to goal.

Of course, this moment is about a poor kick from the veteran keeper into midfield. However, it’s important to consider the way in which Rangers closed off passing options, forced their opponents backwards and were again primed to attack space.

Look at this screenshot just before the pass is played back to Marshall. Every Hibs passing option in the midfield is marked up.

Both Hanlon (No.4) and James Jeggo (No.14) have their arm outstretched seemingly pointing to the right flank, but there is no teammate available.

This game will be remembered for attacking moments and constant attacks, but it was a performance "built on the out of possession stuff".