Rangers boss Philippe Clement has defended Cyriel Dessers after a big missed opportunity in Saturday’s defeat at the hands of Celtic.
Rangers have finally tasted defeat in the Philippe Clement era having lost 2-1 away at Celtic on Saturday afternoon.
Gers fans had real hope of a win on enemy soil but Clement’s men just came up short with James Tavernier’s late strike simply not enough.
The inquest has begun and many Rangers fans are pointing the finger at striker Cyriel Dessers – but Clement isn’t following suit.
Philippe Clement defends Cyriel Dessers after Rangers defeat
Dessers was presented with a huge opportunity in the first half.
The Nigerian international pounced on a poor pass to get himself through on goal alongside teammate Todd Cantwell.
Shoot it, pass it, shoot it, pass it – Rangers fans will have been screaming at the TV, urging Dessers to take one of two options.
Dessers ended up doing neither, hesitating for so long that Celtic were able to get back in and snuff out the chance.
That moment was what Dessers was bought for; an experienced striker in a big game should be showing more conviction when heading towards goal.
Dessers didn’t and whilst Rangers fans are again left to question Michael Beale’s big summer signing, Clement isn’t slating him.
Clement told Rangers TV that he isn’t going to blame Dessers for the defeat because he has seen Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe miss similar chances before.
Clement is taking the stance that, if two of the world’s greatest strikers can miss chances, then so can Dessers.
“No, it’s not my biggest frustration because I see Haaland and Mbappe also missing chances like that, so that’s part of football,” said Clement.
Few managers would point the finger of blame at one player anyway, but certainly not somebody as level-headed as Clement.
Clement knows he needs Dessers in the coming months and will attempt to protect him after a fairly disappointing start to his Rangers career.
A new striker was arrived in Fabio Silva though, and Clement may privately believe that the Portuguese loanee can make a bigger impact in attack than Dessers.
