Glasgow Rangers centre-forward Youssef Chermiti stole the show at Ibrox against Hearts in a 4-2 win in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.
The Portugal U21 international scored the first hat-trick of his senior career to secure all three points for the Light Blues, who are now two points behind the league leaders.
Danny Rohl‘s side had to battle from 1-0 and 2-1 down in the first half to go in 2-2 at the break before two goals from Chermiti in the second half were enough to seal the win for the hosts.
The former Everton striker showed great composure, twice with his right foot and once with his head, to score three goals from just 1.13 xG worth of chances in front of goal, displaying a ruthless nature that has not always been there this season.
Since signing from the Toffees for a fee of £8m last summer, Chermiti has been trying to win the fanbase over to prove that he was worth the investment.
Why Rangers need more from Youssef Chermiti
As great as scoring a hat-trick in a huge game against the league leaders is, Rohl and Chermiti will both know that he needs to do more week-in-week-out to justify the £8m fee.
The Portuguese centre-forward is showing encouraging signs, having scored twice against Celtic and three times against Hearts, but it is the consistency that he is currently lacking.
Chermiti did not provide a goal or an assist in the six matches in all competitions between the games against Celtic and Hearts, which shows that he has turned up for the big matches, but not the games in between, and they are just as important.
The 21-year-old number nine has only scored two goals in 17 matches in the league outside of the five goals against the two teams with Rangers in the title race, although one of those other two goals was against Hearts earlier this term, which shows that he needs to do more against the rest of the teams in the division.
On top of that, Chermiti has only completed 64% of his attempted passes and averages 0.5 key passes per game. Passing and creating chances for his teammates, therefore, are also areas for improvement.
With the centre-forward’s struggle for consistency in mind, there is another Rangers star who is currently even more important to Rohl than the hat-trick hero.
Rangers star who is more important than Chermiti
The Light Blues splashed the cash in the January transfer window in an attempt to bolster their title hopes, signing Ryan Naderi, Tochi Chukwuani, Andreas Skov Olsen, and Tuur Rommens.
All four of those players have already registered a goal contribution for the club, with Skov Olsen registering an assist for Chermiti’s second goal against Hearts, and Chukwuani already looks like an incredibly important player in the middle of the park.
The Danish central midfielder has started more Premiership games (four) than his fellow January arrivals, playing alongside Nicolas Raskin in midfield, with Connor Barron missing through injury.
Chukwuani has quickly established himself as an influential player on the pitch with his dominant play both in and out of possession in central midfield, showing his quality as a passer as well as his strength defensively.
The 22-year-old star, who scored his first goal for the club in the 8-0 win over Queen’s Park at Ibrox in the SFA Cup, caught the eye with an impressive showing against Hearts.
Football FanCast handed the Danish powerhouse a whopping 9/10 player rating for his displays, thanks to how combative and disruptive he was in the middle of the park for the Gers.
The former Sturm Graz star won eight of his ten ground duels throughout the match, winning two of his three attempted tackles, including one last-man tackle to prevent an almost-certain goal, and was only dribbled past on one occasion.
His dominance in duels meant that Rangers were able to win the midfield battle against Hearts, which provided the team with a strong platform to go on and win the game from.
|
25/26 Premiership |
Tochi Chukwuani |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
4 |
|
Pass accuracy |
85% |
|
Tackles per game |
3.3 |
|
Ball recoveries per game |
3.5 |
|
Duels won per game |
5.8 |
|
Duel success rate |
56% |
Chukwuani is now averaging 3.3 tackles per game across his four appearances in the Premiership so far this season, which is the most in the squad by some distance. Raskin’s 2.4 tackles per game in the league is the second-best at the moment, illustrating how impressive and combative the Dane has been.
The January signing’s defensive consistency, winning 56% of his duels across four games, and reliable passing, completing 85% of his attempted passes, has made him a key cog in the Rangers machine already.
Chukwuani’s strength and quality off and on the ball helps the Gers to win midfield battles against strong opponents, which is why he is so important to the team.
Despite only joining the team in the recent transfer window, the Danish gem is showing more consistency in his performances than Chermiti has all season.
Saved by Chermiti: Rohl must drop Rangers star who lost 100% tackles
Danny Rohl must drop this Glasgow Rangers flop who was saved by Youssef Chermiti against Hearts.