OPINION
Rangers left it late to keep within touching distance of Celtic at the top of the table with a 2-1 win away at St Johnstone on Sunday afternoon.
A second half brace from Alfredo Morelos saw the Gers turn the game on its head and secure what many will deem an undeserved three points, Steven Gerrard’s men struggling to live up to expectation in the last Premiership game before Christmas.
Aside from the Colombian, who stood out for the right or wrong reasons?
This is Futbol has rated and slated the Rangers’ stars in their narrow win – including a quartet who suffered a horror show:
Goalkeeper and defence
McGregor: 7 – Rangers’ Mr Dependable. Pulled off the necessary saves when his goal was threatened, and there was little he could do about the opener. Without him, this could have been worse for the Light Blues.
Tavernier: 6 – By no means the captain’s finest performance. Struggled to make an impact in attack while found himself beaten time and again down the wing. Remained as resolute as possible but more has to be expected. Redeemed himself with a beauty for Morelos’ second.
Worrall: 3 – Both Worrall and Connor Goldson were embarrassing against St Johnstone and as such pick up the same score. They struggled to create any sort of understanding and it created a massive void at the heart of the defence. Seriously worrying.
Goldson: 3 – See above.
Barisic: 5 – A shaky first 40 minutes was all the left back was able to manage as he picked up an injury and was forced off to be replaced by Lee Wallace. Not what the Gers need moving forward.
Midfield
McCrorie: 5 – An understated performance from a man expected to control play in the middle of the park. Was second best at times and showed a real weakness against a side he should have been shining against.
Halliday: 5 – Like McRorie, there was plenty missing from Halliday’s game. A lack of creativity hurt the Gers and that needs to be addressed.
Coulibaly: 6 – The best of the midfielders, but only by a slight margin. Showed that creativity in flashes but there still needed to be more to make
Attack
Candeias: 3 – Who? A complete bystander for much of the game, fans would have been excused for thinking he was missing from the starting XI. He can do so much better, which is why this was a huge disappointment.
Grezda: 3 – Another winger, another abysmal display. His final ball never threatened the St Johnstone back line and with such poor decision making there was no chance the Gers would score.
Morelos: 9 – Cometh the hour, cometh the man. He was living off scraps for most of the game but when chances came his way he did what he does best – put the ball in the back of the net. Both goals were well taken and he has just added another couple of figures onto his price tag.
Substitutes
Wallace (41′ Barisic): 6 – His future at Ibrox might look bleak but Wallace performed admirably when coming on for the injured Barisic.
Middleton (46′ Grezda): 8 – The sort of game changing performance the Gers desperately needed. Lively in attack, it was his pinpoint cross which started the comeback. Exciting stuff.
Lafferty (55′ Coulibaly): 6 – He might not have got on the scoresheet but acted well as a foil for Morelos, giving the St Johnstone defenders something to think about after an easy 55 minutes. Can two up front work from here on out? This suggests so.