Glasgow Rangers booked their place in the next round of Champions League qualifiers after a 1-1 draw against Panathinaikos in Greece on Wednesday night.
The Light Blues rode their luck at times before they eventually went 1-0 down in the 53rd minute, only for substitute Djeidi Gassama to score his second goal in as many games for the club just seven minutes later.
Whilst it was another positive result for the Gers, who beat the Greek side 2-0 at Ibrox last week, there were some concerning moments and performances on the pitch for Russell Martin’s side.
The team news was met with some surprise as Gassama was initially left on the bench again and Kieran Dowell was selected from the start, and the former Norwich man failed to justify the manager’s continued faith in him.
Why Rangers should drop Kieran Dowell
With the Gers travelling to Motherwell for the opening game of the Scottish Premiership season on Saturday, Martin must drop the English winger from the XI.
Dowell started the first leg against Panathinaikos at Ibrox last week, on the right wing, and produced zero shots on target and zero key passes in 75 minutes before being taken off, whilst he also missed a ‘big chance’.
This time around, the Everton academy graduate had zero shots on goal and created zero chances in 74 minutes on the pitch on the right wing, which shows that he was equally as ineffective.
This is why Dowell, who has not offered any threat in front of goal as a scorer or a creator, should be dropped for the clash with Motherwell, but he is not the only player who should face the axe.
Why Rangers should drop Max Aarons
Summer signing Max Aarons was selected at left-back once again and looked too uncomfortable away from his favoured position at right-back for most of the match, before switching to the right for the last 17 minutes.
The former Norwich man, who was handed a 4/10 player rating by The Scotsman, made an almost costly error early on in the match when he failed to deal with a through ball and allowed their forward to race clear on goal, only for Jack Butland to make a vital save.
That mistake seemed to set the tone for Aarons for the rest of the night. He looked hesitant to be aggressive with his defending and looked uncomfortable trying to push forward on his weaker left foot, which is why he was just as bad as the ineffective Dowell.
Jefte came on, replacing Dowell, in the second half, and looked far more comfortable at left-back, as you would expect given that it is his natural position, and should be given the nod over Aarons on Saturday.
|
Vs Panathinaikos |
Max Aarons |
Jefte |
|---|---|---|
|
Minutes played |
90 |
17 |
|
Tackles + interceptions |
1 |
2 |
|
Ground duel success rate |
83% |
100% |
|
Pass accuracy |
89% |
100% |
|
Dribbled past |
0x |
0x |
|
Error led to shot |
1 |
0 |
|
Crosses attempted |
0 |
2 |
As you can see in the table above, the Brazilian defender won more tackles and attempted more crosses in 17 minutes than the Bournemouth loanee managed in 90.
Jefte, as a left-footed player, is more comfortable progressing with the ball to take up crossing positions and more confident at going in for tackles with his left foot, which is why it was not a surprise to see him put up superior statistics in his short time on the pitch.
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It is now down to Martin to ruthlessly axe his new signing from the starting XI, unless he plans to drop the captain James Tavernier from right-back, in order to have a natural left-back in the team on that side.
