Rangers’ unbeaten streak came to an end against famous rivals Celtic before the international break. Steven Gerrard, the Gers boss, was hoping to get back to winning ways on Saturday afternoon against bottom-placed Dundee FC, who lost all their games before this Ibrox tie. Celtic, the defending champion were held to a scoreless draw by St Mirren last night, which handed the Light Blues an added boost to close the gap in the title challenge. The game, as expected, was thoroughly dominated by the hosts and ended in a commanding 4-0 victory thanks to goals from Lassana Coulibaly, Ryan Kent, James Tavernier and teenager Glenn Middleton.
Below are the Rangers players rated in their comprehensive win against struggling Dundee FC.
Allan McGregor: 7
Had a busy run of games but was mostly quiet this afternoon as the hosts failed to test his resilience between the sticks.
James Tavernier: 8
Struggled defensively at times in previous games but was rarely challenged at the back versus Dundee. Continued to display his stupendous attacking traits with overlap runs, crosses and one-twos with Candeias from the right. Slotted home a spot-kick in the stoppage time of the first half with great expertise.
Connor Goldson: 7.5
Maintained his focus at the back despite rare threats from the opponents. He was spot on while making tackles, blocks and clearances, thus, clinched a clean sheet delivering yet another steady performance. Nearly scored his side’s fifth of the afternoon but saw a point-blank save from Elliot Parish, the Dundee custodian, stop him from scoring.
Nikola Katic: 7
Katic too made his presence known in the backline with his positioning, timely blocks and calmness. He and Goldson, although playing together for the first time in new surroundings, have arguably emerged as the most exciting central defensive duo to follow in this season’s Premiership football.
Borna Barisic: 7.5
The Croatian international exhibited his usual attacking flair with runs down the left flank and contributed in Rangers’ early opener by forcing Parish making into a save. But the ball fell to the path of Lassana Coulibaly who made no mistake to make it count.
Andy Halliday: 7.5
Did well in a holding midfield role as he kept on breaking down the Dundee moves and helped build movements from the deep. The outcast has redefined himself under Gerrard, therefore, enjoying first-team minutes quite regularly.
Lassana Coulibaly: 8
Returned to action after weeks of injury absence and notched an early goal to announce his impact in Gerrard’s system. His box-to-box runs and threats upfront troubled the visitors time and again. He almost grabbed a stunner with an overhead strike, which narrowly went over the bar around the half-hour mark. Was replaced by youngster Glenn Middleton within 10 minutes into the second half.
Scott Arfield: 7.5
Arfield was operating in a free role and came close to scoring on a few occasions. Was denied by Parish and also missed out the target narrowly. Could not make it to the scoresheet despite assisting Kent and playing with great composure for 90 minutes.
Daniel Candeias: 7.5
Kept on whipping in crosses from the right which were often causing problems to a depleted Dundee defence. The Portuguese professional worked hard and got his reward late in the game when he contributed in Middleton’s debut goal with a cross from the right.
Ryan Kent: 8.5
Scored a sensational goal with smart link-up football and doubled the lead minutes after the early opener. Was a menace from the left wing as he forced Parish to make saves and also whipped in crosses inside the box to create more chances. Was replaced by Kyle Lafferty midway in the second half.
Alfredo Morelos: 8
Was unlucky not to make it to the scoresheet as his ruled-out goal ( due to offside) looked tight in the replay. Played his part in Kent’s goal and also earned a spot-kick which was converted by skipper Tavernier late in the first half. Was repeatedly denied by Parish and Dundee defence but made a massive impact with his presence high up the pitch. Was replaced by Eros Grezda who made his debut since completing a summer move from Osijek.
Substitutes
Glenn Middleton: 7
Scored his first goal and looked sharp whenever he had the ball in his feet. Gerrard has high hopes from the teenager and is handing him minutes to flourish further before start making regular appearances for the Teddy Bears.
Kyle Lafferty: 6
Was introduced in place of impressive Ryan Kent. Saw his goal ruled out for offside in the closing minutes.
Eros Grezda: 6
Had a good few minutes on the pitch for his new club before settling in well in Premiership football.
