Glasgow Rangers missed out on a big chance to close the gap on Hearts and extend the gap between themselves and their city rivals on Sunday in the Scottish Premiership.
The Light Blues faced the team at the bottom of the league table, Livingston, and found themselves 2-0 down after 55 minutes, but battled back to secure a 2-2 draw.
At 1-0 down at the break, Danny Rohl decided to withdraw Andreas Skov Olsen from the team to bring on Bojan Miovski as his replacement to go with two strikers up front.
The Denmark international, who is on loan from Wolfsburg until the end of the season, was taken off the pitch without a goal contribution to show for his efforts.
However, Skov Olsen’s lack of goals or assists to influence the game does not paint the full picture of the first half, and he should not be criticised too much for his display.
Why Skov Olsen should not have been substituted
The Dane started in his favoured position on the right wing for the Light Blues on Sunday, looking to provide a creative spark down the flank for Rohl.
Despite the fact that Rangers went into the break without a goal on the board, Skov Olsen did what he was in the team to do: create chances. He created three chances and one ‘big chance’ in just 45 minutes of action, but poor finishing from his teammates let him down.
In fact, that was the big story for the Gers on the day. They only scored two goals from 3.63 xG and seven ‘big chances’ in their trip to the team at the bottom of the league.
|
Stat |
Livingston |
Rangers |
|---|---|---|
|
xG |
0.30 |
3.63 |
|
Shots |
5 |
31 |
|
Shots on target |
3 |
11 |
|
Goalkeeper saves |
9 |
1 |
|
Big chances missed |
0 |
6 |
If his teammates had converted the chances that he had created for them in the first half, Skov Olsen may not have been substituted at half-time and may, instead, have been lauded for his display.
When Rohl and his team of analysts sit down to review the first half, and the game overall, they may feel that the winger’s performance was not as disappointing as it seemed at the time.
Instead of taking the Danish winger off to change things up at the break, Rohl should have substituted another underperforming player who was worse than the Wolfsburg loanee.
The Rangers flop who should have been subbed instead of Skov Olsen
There are several players who may be fortunate to retain their place in the starting line-up for the clash with Celtic at Ibrox next weekend in the Premiership.
One of those players is James Tavernier, the captain, after a wasteful display from the full-back against Livingston on Sunday, after he came into the side to replace the injured Dujon Sterling.
Particularly in the first half, the skipper tried to do too much when he had the ball at his feet, rather than picking out the best decision to help the team in the build-up.
Whether it was a direct tactical decision from Rohl or individual decision-making from Tavernier, the right-back tried to push the ball forward and took risks with almost every touch, which resulted in Skov Olsen, playing on the right ahead of him, not getting as many touches as he could have.
Instead of trying to get the ball to the Dane in the most dangerous positions possible, Tavernier looked to be the main outlet for the Gers down the right, and he was far more wasteful with the ball than the loanee forward.
|
Vs Livingston |
Tavernier |
Skov Olsen |
|---|---|---|
|
Minutes |
90 |
45 |
|
Shots |
5 |
0 |
|
Goals |
0 |
0 |
|
Key passes |
5 |
3 |
|
Big chances created |
2 |
1 |
|
Possession lost |
31x |
6x |
That tactic or mentality meant that the English defender lost possession a staggering 31 times across the 90 minutes. He lost possession 25 more times than Skov Olsen, yet only created two more chances for the team and was more fortunate in that Mikey Moore scored from one of them.
Their respective creative output, in comparison to how often they lost the ball, suggests that Rangers would have been more effective in possession if they made their winger their main outlet out wide, rather than the full-back.
That is why Tavernier should have been the one to come off at the break, moving Max Aarons to right-back, to allow Skov Olsen to be the main creative threat on that side.
Now, Rohl should make that change to the starting line-up for the clash with Celtic next weekend, dropping the captain to play Aarons, as Sterling remains out with an injury, and Skov Olsen down the right for that clash with their title rivals.
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The Gers may face a difficult spell.