How rampant Rangers annihilated Aberdeen with season-high chance creation

Jim Goodwin admitted his side had “no arguments” about the end result and not only do the numbers back up that claim, they show it could’ve been more.

Rangers accumulated a 6.19xG total come full-time. StatsBomb predicts they’d win that game 100 percent of the time such was their dominance regarding chances created. 

To put that 6.19xG number into context, the Ibrox side had averaged 1.87xG per 90 in the league prior to yesterday’s game. The next-highest total they’ve managed was 3.44xG against Ross County in a 4-0 win, the last time they exceeded 6.19xG was against Braga when they ended the game with 6.24xG on the road to Seville. 

This was comfortably the best performance of the season.

Van Bronckhorst revealed an emphasis on starting fast post-match. “If you start on the front foot you feel the benefit for the whole game,” he said. He varied his team approach slightly, as is customary, but crucially passes were fast, movement was crisp and the pace of play relentless. That's what made all the difference. 

The Dutchman played John Lundstram higher than James Sands in the first half with Malik Tillman just off Antonio Colak. Notice Colak’s position below, which is calculated based on the average area from which he made his passes, is deeper than wingers Ryan Kent and Fashion Sakala. The Croatian forward dropped constantly at the instruction of his manager to create space for runners beyond. Ridvan Yilmaz’s narrow positioning is also clear from the small amount of time he spent on the pitch.

Looking at the On-Ball Value (OBV) version of the pass network can grant further insight. Remember the larger the circle of a player, the more passes they made. The darker the circle the more influential they were in creating goalscoring opportunities.

In the below pass network, StatsBomb uses OBV. This metric assesses “ball progression value by estimating how much an event improves or reduces the team’s xG difference”. In basic terms, if a player makes a pass, tackle, or dribble, does it improve the team’s likelihood of scoring overall?

We can see Kent and Sakala’s circles are both red, indicating their danger throughout. So too are Lundstram and Tillman alongside centre-back Ben Davies, thanks largely to his first-half assist.

Aberdeen positioned their defensive block aggressively in a back three. Van Bronckhorst revealed post-match that their man-for-man preference offered Rangers the opportunity to attack constantly with runners in behind. 

So what of the goalmouth activity? In open play, the hosts recorded 5.49xG which shot up with James Tavernier’s penalty miss.

Three of the goals, outlined by a white border, were from close range and presented varying levels of opportunity. Alfredo Morelos’ late tap-in had a 0.94xG rating, Lundstram’s first-half strike 0.51xG and Tavernier’s header just 0.10xG.

Colak is at his best when swivelling to finish across his body and given the Post-Shot xG on his goal was 0.91, which measures the likelihood of a goal after the shot has been taken, Kelle Roos was left with almost literally no chance.

Tavernier had nine shots and eventually got his goal at the back post while Sakala should’ve added to his season tally.

Kent didn’t grab an assist but on the basis of numbers was Rangers’ most creative player. Sakala failed to finish either of the excellent deliveries his teammate provided before half-time but in any case, the Ibrox side will benefit from a winger attacking the penalty box over time as the Zambian did yesterday. 

The visitors managed five attempts. After taking the lead through Connor Barron, their only other effort was a Luis Lopez header on 45 minutes.

Van Bronckhorst’s men held 69 percent possession and harried the visitors when they didn’t have ownership of the ball, completing the name number of pressure regains (21).

Tillman made the highest number of pressures, 15, team-wide. He’s faced criticism for his off-ball work at points however, the numbers show he is contributing. Given his excellent performance and Lundstram’s post-match admission that supporters need to stick with him, perhaps the numbers can counteract some opinions.

Who else deserves individual highlighting? Sakala and Kent, whose carries are shown below, were successful (highlighted in red) with 85 and 83 percent of their 54 and 53 carries.

Sands excelled in midfield and defence as the team’s pace-setter in possession. Although his passing is not always the most eye-catching, steady and dependable ball progression allowed Rangers to beat the press and play forwards.

And Tavernier looked somewhat back to his best. Playing in a narrow position, he continued his fine scoring record against Aberdeen.

Most importantly of all for Rangers, yesterday’s performance offered supporters a style of play to buy into. Too often this season possession has been laborious and starts have been slow.

This level of aggression from the start, the number of dynamic one-on-one threats in the starting 11 and energy over 90 minutes must be the benchmark going forwards.