It’s hard to shake that Wednesday’s draw felt like a defeat for Glasgow Rangers, with the Premiership title hopefuls made to pay for not killing the game off against ten men.
In truth, despite that player advantage, the Light Blues were never comfortable at Fir Park, even after racing into an early lead following Nicolas Raskin’s well-taken finish.
Right from the outset, the hosts were in the ascendancy, with Danny Rohl‘s decision-making, both pre-game and in-game, having seemingly not helped matters.
Opting to shuffle his pack so extensively no doubt backfired, with the German made to pay for taking this impressive Motherwell side lightly.
Why Motherwell draw was Danny Rohl’s worst Rangers outing so far
Fresh off the back of hitting Queen’s Park for eight on Sunday, Rohl made the bold decision to leave out three of his four January arrivals on Wednesday night, with Tochi Chukwuani the only one of those to have kept his place from the weekend win.
There were eyebrows raised when the teamsheet dropped, not least at the sight of Youssef Chermiti leading the line, with the Portuguese’s night going perhaps as expected, as he yet again failed to fire.
The £8m signing notably squandered a gilt-edged chance early on after firing straight at Calum Ward from close range, with Rangers made to pay for such profligacy late on, as Stephen Welsh struck to rescue a deserved point for the home side.
Even against ten men, following Lukas Fadinger’s dismissal, the Gers had failed to hang on, with Rohl also seemingly not helping himself with his second-half substitutions, overlooking the likes of Skov Olsen, Tuur Rommens and Oliver Antman on the bench, while bringing on an extra centre-back in Emmanuel Fernandez to try and see things out.
Motherwell, undoubtedly, are a serious side right now, but in the wake of that late red card, the game was there for the taking, with Rohl doing himself little favours either after suggesting post-match that he would have taken a draw before kick-off.
That mindset simply doesn’t wash with those at Ibrox, with the Light Blues needing to hope that those final few minutes at Fir Park – alongside parallel events at Parkhead – don’t prove fatal in this title bid.
The only positive is that the ex-Sheffield Wednesday boss has the chance to learn from Wednesday’s mistakes, with significant selection calls needing to be made.
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If the Glasgow side do end this season empty-handed, it is the forward line that might have to shoulder a fair portion of the blame, with the attacking unit certainly not thriving like a title-chasing outfit should.
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Back in 2020/21 under Steven Gerrard, for instance, Rangers were blessed with the likes of Kemar Roofe, Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent, the trio scoring 48 goals between them that season in all competitions.
The stark difference between now and then was evident in Chermiti’s woes, the ex-Everton man still on just four goals for the season, with his derby heroics looking like something of a flash in the pan.
The early impressions of Djeidi Gassama have also been altered, after the highs of his Champions League qualifying displays, with the trip to Fir Park seeing the Frenchman produce a particularly dismal display on the right.
Despite the arrival of Skov Olsen last month, alongside a recent resurgence for the aforementioned Antman, Gassama was given the nod against the Steelmen, a decision that no doubt backfired for Rohl and his coaching staff.
Indeed, the 22-year-old was rather anonymous as Rangers struggled for control throughout the hard-fought affair, actually only registering 21 touches in his 74 minutes on the field, a lower tally than even Chermiti achieved through the middle (23).
In all, Gassama failed to attempt a single cross, successfully completed just a solitary dribble and won only two of his seven total duels, with it something of a surprise that it took until the 74th minute for a change to be made.
|
Gassama & Moore vs Motherwell |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stat |
Gassama |
Moore |
|
Minutes |
74 |
86 |
|
Touches |
21 |
3 |
|
Pass accuracy |
78% |
60% |
|
Key passes |
2 |
1 |
|
Succ. dribbles |
1/3 |
2/6 |
|
Crosses |
0 |
0 |
|
Shots |
1 |
1 |
|
Carries |
4 |
12 |
|
Ground duels won |
2/7 |
8/16 |
|
Ball lost |
5 |
14 |
Even more frustrating was that it was Fernandez who was given the nod in his place, rather than a more attack-minded change, as Skov Olsen and Antman were left watching on as unused substitutes.
One of those pair should surely be recalled for the vital weekend clash with Hearts, with Gassama having done little to warrant another start in this title race, having chalked up just five goals and assists in the Premiership all season – only two of which have come in 2026.
Amid reports that Monaco lodged a loan offer with an obligation to buy of £10m last month for the young winger, there is a nagging sense that Rangers should have cashed in, as appears the case amid a reported £13m bid from Fenerbahce for Chermiti.
Neither summer signing has shown any level of consistency this season, and with Rohl now at least blessed with other options in attack after January, hopefully Wednesday’s stalemate sees the pair shuffled back onto the sidelines.
Rohl must bench Rangers flop who was even worse than Souttar
Rangers’ title hopes were dealt a significant blow against ten-man Motherwell on Wednesday night.
