Rangers: Tavernier stole the show v Dundee | OneFootball

Steven Gerrard’s Rangers moved to the top of the Scottish Premiership on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Dundee FC away from home.

The Gers were held to a 1-1 draw by Motherwell in their previous league match but made sure that they came away with the three points this time out with a resolute defensive display.

Rangers midfielder Joe Aribo, assisted by Alfredo Morelos, scored the only goal of the game to win the match for Gerrard, but another player stole the show on the day – James Tavernier.

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Whilst Aribo ultimately won the three points for the Gers with his goal, Tavernier’s all-around performance was sublime and he deserves plaudits for the way he ran the show from right-back. On his 300th appearance, he was able to merge a competent defensive display with some attacking thrust and general composure in possession of the ball.

Defensively, he was solid. Per SofaScore, he won 61.5% of his duels on the pitch, including five of his six aerial battles. He also won two tackles and made three clearances, whilst committing zero fouls over the course of the 90 minutes.

Whilst there was room for improvement, Tavernier did not produce a disastrous defensive display and was still able to come out on top in the majority of his 50/50 duels. This meant that the Dundee players were unable to get the better of him over the course of the game.

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On the ball, however, is where Tavernier stood out. Per SofaScore, he had an incredible 93 touches of the ball as he ran the show from right-back. He completed four crosses, four long balls, 81% of his passes and he provided an eye-catching three key passes for his teammates to have shots at goal.

This shows that he was able to use his time on the ball effectively as he worked openings for other players to test the Dundee goalkeeper. Although he did not receive an assist for his efforts, Tavernier helped to pile on the pressure and pin the opposition in by building attacks for Rangers in the back.

Therefore, Gerrard will surely have been delighted with his captain’s display overall. He was able to dictate the play from right-back and help Rangers secure the three points needed to take them to the top of the table.

AND in other news, Wilson heading for Rangers disaster over “outstanding talent”, Gerrard would be fuming…