RANGERS’ capitulation against Liverpool last night was made all the more notable because of their first-half performance.
At the interval, Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side had created 0.59xG to the visitors' 0.3 and taken three shots to six. Only a soft corner concession drew Jurgen Klopp’s men level. After the break, Liverpool were totally rampant. Scoring six goals and taking 17 shots without reply. They found the net repeatedly and brought Mo Salah on to score a hat-trick, but Rangers’ contribution to their own downfall cannot be glossed over.
Scoring seven goals from 2.09 is the very definition of overperformance. However, as was the case during both heavy Old Firm defeats this year there is little comfort to be taken from numbers in such situations. The disparity between chance creation and conversion shows the extent of Rangers’ unravelling. Having demonstrated an ability to compete and compete well in the first 45 minutes, this was a bodying of the highest order.
We’ve seen this side collapse mentally before this season and yesterday was a further example. Combined with tactical deficiencies and injuries after the interval, Liverpool were afforded constant free runs at the defence.
Van Bronckhorst lamented his side for overplaying and making too many passes after going behind. As demonstrated above, they completed only 70 per cent of the 448 passes attempted. But look at the unsuccessful pass map below. Nearly all of the failed attempts were long passes, rather than short balls that the away side were able to press. That in itself tells of the problem.
In the first half, Rangers were able to go over the press effectively. As the Rangers Review wrote pre-match, van Bronckhorst normally favours a direct method of ball progression in these types of matches. Even in some domestic games, like at Tynecastle a fortnight ago.
Just like passing out from the back under pressure, there is risk attached to going direct and when Rangers had entered their rut, the long balls from the back constantly caused turnovers. Allan McGregor’s 54 per cent pass completion rate shows this. Every kick beyond the halfway line lost possession (yellow), just 25 of 47 were successful.
As mentioned, there is as much of a risk attached to putting possession up for grabs as there is overplaying in your own penalty box. Similar themes were evident in a 3-0 Old Firm defeat this February.
Darwin Nunez’s goal is an example of the shortcomings of this approach. McGregor opts to go long but plays the ball right into the path of Fabinho. Liverpool can then launch an attack through the unguarded centre of the pitch with Rangers’ midfield stationed high to try and compete for second balls.
Klopp’s men waited for their opponents to give up the ball cheaply, or intercepted possession, before bearing down on goal almost unopposed time after time.
“We had four transition moments when we lost the ball and they punished us really quick with the attack they have,” van Bronckhrost said.
The space Fabinho was able to drive into is depicted in Rangers’ pass network below. Stationed high and wide to try and bypass the Liverpool midfield, they didn’t boast sufficient central numbers behind to stop attacks.
Contrastingly, Liverpool’s four forwards were central and able to expose these openings.
Aside from their goal, the home side’s next best chance fell to Scott Arfield inside the area. Alisson was untroubled for the entire match.
Liverpool scored five of their seven from the right-hand side of the box and finished with ruthless efficiency.
McGregor’s goals saved above average, a metric which charts if a goalkeeper has over or underperformed the shots they’ve faced, came in at -1.69. He was unable to bail his team out.
Rangers’ issue was not pressure. Their heatmap shows an active performance against the ball with plenty of attempts to harry the opposition (164).
The visitors, who made 106 pressures, did not press high up the pitch because they did not have to. The Ibrox side may well have played over their press before the break but after, poor execution, the loss of Connor Goldson and a decision against shutting up shop left an abundance of space exploitable at turnovers.
This was not a game in which Klopp’s pressing machine overwhelmed the backline. The hosts opened the door to goal repeatedly with their tactical set-up and far from the first time this season, demonstrated a concerning mental collapse nobody can be sure will not happen again.
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