Glasgow Rangers will be hoping to return to winning ways on Thursday evening as they take on Romanian side FCSB in the Europa League.
The 1-0 Premiership loss vs Kilmarnock wasn’t a shock, especially considering how poor the Light Blues played during the tie. Philippe Clement must make several changes to his starting XI this evening, otherwise it could be another defeat.
There wasn’t a single standout performer at Rugby Park, as even those who have been bright recently struggled to break down Killie, including left-back Jefte.
Jefte’s performance against Kilmarnock
The Brazilian has impressed in spells since deputising for Ridvan Yilmaz on the left side of the defence, but he wasn’t quite at the races against the Ayrshire side at the weekend.
While he certainly was dynamic, succeeding with three of his five dribbles, making one key pass and delivering an accurate cross, things didn’t seem to click, especially from a defensive viewpoint.
Indeed, the youngster won just seven of his 14 attempted ground duels, lost possession a staggering 23 times and was dribbled past once during the 90 minutes.
He was given a match rating of 5/10 for his display by Scotsman journalist Matthew Elder, and it was a fair reflection of how he performed.
Dribble attempts (successful)
5 (3)
Ground duels (won)
14 (7)
Touches
81
Key passes
1
Possession lost
23
Tackles
4
Clement could drop him to the bench to unleash another one of his summer signings, one who shone during the Gers’ opening Europa League tie against Malmö last month – Neraysho Kasanwirjo.
The Rangers star who can replace Jefte
Signed on loan from Feyenoord during the dying embers of the summer transfer window, the Dutchman’s versatility was expected to be a big bonus for Clement, as he can play across the entire back four.
He made his first start against the Swedish side in what turned out to be a routine 2-0 win for the Gers.
Kasanwirjo played the full 90 minutes and finished with a pass success rate of 89%, while also delivering eight accurate long passes from ten attempts, indicating a wonderful passing range.
Defensively, the Dutchman won two of his three contested duels, made one tackle and lost possession just six times, delivering an extremely solid display on his very first start for the club.
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He could even have added a goal during the final minutes, missing a fairly straightforward chance by blazing his shot over the crossbar.
Since then, he has been forced to make do with substitute appearances, but against FCSB, Kasanwirjo has to be unleashed from the start.
Following his performance, writer Gavin Kelly hailed the defender, saying:
“Kasanwirjo has to start against the better teams now for me. Instantly more aggressive with his defending and gave less space and time for wingers to get going.”
Clement is a man under pressure, no doubt about it. Will he continue to play with the same starting XI? Or will the Belgian make a few changes this evening?
Whoever starts, three points is an absolute must tonight.
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