Rangers’ heroics against Spanish heavyweights Villarreal in their midweek Europa League trip received plaudits from the pundits where they twice came back from behind to make it 2-2 at El Madrigal. There were concerns over their fitness following back to back games since the start of the campaign, but the Gers thoroughly dominated their Ibrox tie versus St. Johnstone and grabbed a commanding 5-1 win to rise to the second spot of Premiership standings.
Below are the Rangers players rated in their comprehensive win against St. Johnstone.
Allan McGregor: 7
Was mostly untested all afternoon until the Saints found the net from the spot when Blair Alston made it 4-1 after drawing a foul in the penalty area. The Scotsman, however, made a couple of routine stops towards the end of the game.
James Tavernier: 8
The skipper had his issues defensively allowing Matty Kennedy to make some movements using the width of the pitch but was standout once again while going forward as he scored spectacularly from a free-kick to break the deadlock early. Also set it up for Alfredo Morelos to make it 2-0 and hit the woodwork from another free-kick, all inside the first half. Was replaced by Ovie Ejaria just before the hour mark.
Connor Goldson: 7.5
Had a comfortable afternoon of football following a tough midweek tie against the Yellow Submarine. He was well-positioned, concentrated and did not allow David Wotherspoon and Tony Watt to cause any menace in Rangers’ box.
Nikola Katic: 7.5
Returned to action in place of Joe Worrall who was preferred versus Villarreal. The Croatian had little test defensively but did well to pass the ball around and form moves from the deep. Was calm, composed and concentrated all afternoon.
Jon Flanagan: 7.5
Flanagan offered defensive stability and also combined well with Ryan Kent down the left with the latter causing persistent problems in the Saints backline with his pace, power, movements and shooting.
Ross McCrorie: 7
McCrorie started the game in place of Andy Halliday who was rested for this weekend tie after a tiring outing versus the Spanish heavyweights on Thursday night. The youngster, however, did well to marshal the backline and carried the ball forward from the deep to distribute upfront and maintained the tempo throughout.
Lassana Coulibaly: 7.5
Regaining his fitness gradually as he enjoyed a comfortable afternoon with lots of passing, link-up football and down the middle runs to orchestrate the game from the centre of the pitch. Was replaced by Graham Dorrans just over the hour mark.
Scott Arfield: 8.5
Scored against Villarreal and should have done much better in closing seconds to clinch all three points at El Madrigal. But the versatile Canadian was standout this afternoon as he scored one and assisted Kyle Lafferty and Daniel Candeias to extend the margin. Conceded a spot-kick which looked soft and could have been waved away by the referee.
Daniel Candeias: 8
His hard work paid off as he marked his name on the scoresheet with a decent finish. Candeias cut inside the box from the right and slotted it into the back of the net with his left foot showcasing great composure.
Ryan Kent: 8
Was excellent down the left as he forced Zander Clark into making diving tackles. He saw his efforts blocked and also hit the woodwork which was sent into the back of the net by Arfield from the rebound.
Alfredo Morelos: 8.5
‘El Bufalo’ returned among goals in his trademark manner when he beat past a defender and struck with venom to stun the goalkeeper. Created a few more chances and also played his part in the build-up of both Arfield and Lafferty’s second-half strikes.
Substitutes
Ovie Ejaria: 6
Returned from a short injury spell and enjoyed his playing time in the middle of the park.
Graham Dorrans: 6
Dorrans impressed in his late cameo versus Villarreal following his return from a lengthy injury stint and enjoyed more minutes this afternoon after coming on in place of Coulibaly.
Kyle Lafferty: 7
Continues his scoring run as he found the net again after midweek to exhibit his excellence inside the box.
