In a record-breaking season for Rangers, there were a number of top-class performances.
The Rangers Review analysed the role’s played by Ryan Kent, Kemar Roofe and James Tavernier in part one of our StatsBomb radar review of season 20/21.
Here, we analyse Connor Goldson and Glen Kamara in comparison to the overall league average.
The value of each metric is measured per average 90 and percentile rankings are given in relation to the highest and lowest recorded value in each position-specific radar.
Connor Goldson:
Goldson had by far his best season in a Rangers shirt last season, contributing hugely to his side's defensive and attacking efforts.
The lack of pressurised long balls Goldson played compared to unpressurised is really noticeable. His percentile rating for this metric rose 10 from the previous campaign. The 28-year-old charted the fourth highest league average for unpressurised long balls overall. Naturally, this is due to teams sitting off the Rangers backline in a bid to remain compact.
In 19/20, he was also averaging a far higher 10.57 pressurised long balls per game than the 6.24 from 20/21, demonstrating further that teams are less inclined to engage Rangers higher up the pitch.
READ MORE: Connor Goldson's Rangers importance and why Jack Simpson could be his long-term replacement
His xGbuildup is given a rating of 98. Only Christopher Jullien had a higher value per 90 last season at 0.99 than Goldon's 0.87, in a much smaller sample size of 807 minutes compared to Goldon’s 3579. The xGbuildup metric attributes the xG value of the final shot to all the players that were involved in the entire professional phase leading up to it.
Goldson's usual partner Filip Helander clocked a much lower 0.59, showing Goldon's importance in starting and supporting attacks, as well as his goal threat from corners and free-kicks.
Glen Kamara:
Kamara’s xGbuildup numbers are really impressive and indicate his centrality to Rangers’ attacking play. Only team-mates Steven Davis and Ryan Jack, as well as Ismaila Soro, charted higher from midfield.
The other number that stands out is his deep progressions. He again comes in as the fourth-highest in the league for this metric in his position. Behind Davis, Jack and Callum McGregor.
Whether it be through dropping into the backline to start moves or try and penetrate the final third from a spell of possession, he is contributing more to Rangers' attempts to break down the opposition block than in the past. His 9.39 deep progressions per 90 from last season is almost double the 5.57 he was making in season 18/19.
His susceptibility to cause 0.9 turnovers of possession per match is in my opinion an extremely impressive stat and dropped slightly from 1.13 in 19/20. Given the number of times that he is able to manipulate the opposition with his first touch and close control and the advantages this offers his team in moving defences and creating passing lanes.
His pressure statistics and regains are not possession-adjusted for the dominance that normally ensues in a domestic Rangers match, hence his low percentile ratings.
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