Tom English described the Rangers’ defensive lapses in the victory over Dundee as “unbelievable.”
The BBC journalist was taken aback by Philippe Clement’s team’s “weakness” on December 9th, live on Sportscene, as they trailed early at Ibrox due to Amadou Bakayoko.
The striker scored from a fifth-minute corner after Lyall Cameron had easily walked past Leon Balogun and John Lundstram twice on his way into the box, only to have Jack Butland narrowly tip his shot around the post. The striker was the fastest player in the penalty area to react.
In response, Rory Hamilton said, “Yeah, and they’re all staring at each other.”
“They lose the first header, Lundstram heads the ball back behind him,” was how English put it. The extraordinary weakness at the back is a result of the chance that came right before it.
Careless
To put it plainly, English was correct since Rangers struggled defensively against a team they crushed 5-0 in the rematch a little over a month ago (1 November).
Butland seemed more uncomfortable than he has ever looked throughout the afternoon, but particularly in the first half.
The last thing Clement wants is for his defense to appear so weak or for his midfield to be chasing the ball when the issues up front have been well-documented.
To be fair, Lundstram improved during the game, and the defense improved a little after the half, but Jose Cifuentes never got the chance to play because he was sent off in first-half stoppage time, albeit not very harshly.
His ban exacerbates the midfield injury crisis already facing Ryan Jack, Tom Lawrence, and Nico Raskin. John Souttar also failed to persuade the manager to start him in the starting lineup after choosing to rest Connor Goldson.
A number of things came together to make Rangers appear worrisomely vulnerable at the back.
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