Rangers kick off the 24/25 Scottish Premiership season with a goalless draw away to Hearts at Tynecastle.
The Ibrox side are currently in the midst of a much-discussed rebuild but started with a team of ten players who were in the squad last season.
Only Connor Barron was handed a full debut in Gers colours with new outfield options Vaclav Cerny and Jefte on the bench.
Hearts have been busy themselves this summer and a number of their new players were spotted at Tynecastle.
Here’s our player ratings as Rangers and Hearts got Scottish Premiership proceedings under way this season.
Rangers player ratings v Hearts
Jack Butland – 7
A solid outing for Super Jack Butland who made a number of smart saves but could’ve had egg on his face in the second half.
Stopping James Penrice in the first, Butland also halted Lawrence Shankland before reacting to gather the loose ball in the second.
Saved with his chest when Leon Balogun inexplicably headed back to him from close range before the Gers scrambled a blocked clearance out of the box.
James Tavernier – 6
Tavernier bit back at speculation about his future before the clash at Tynecastle but he was far from his best in a nervous clash with Hearts.
Routinely bombing up and down the right, the Gers skipper wasn’t quite so accurate with his crossing and almost sclaffed an own goal into his own net at the other end.
Was thrice thwarted trying to score from a corner from Lawrence Shankland.
Ben Davies – 6
A solid display from Davies who has been much-maligned ever since moving to Rangers two years ago.
Now in his third season, the defender has had a full pre-season under his belt but still struggled with the pace of Kenneth Vargas at times.
Rangers kept a clean sheet so the stopper did his job, but the Rangers net lived a charmed live. Nervous at times, composed in others, we’re really not sure on the guy.
John Souttar – 6
John Souttar probably would’ve had a higher score had he not been found wanting a few times with balls high in the air.
The defender lost James Penrice in the first half only for Jack Butland to bail him out, whilst the Scotland international continues to get caught out from simple balls over the top.
Made a superb recovery tackle in the second half to halt a Hearts breakaway but had the Jambos been more ruthless, we could’ve easily conceded.
Ridvan Yilmaz – 8 (POTM)
Ridvan Yilmaz is a superbly technical footballer and has this knack of finding space in the channel between the opposition full-back and defender.
A fierce tackler despite his diminutive frame, the Turkish international bombed up and down the flank all game and was amongst Rangers’ best creative outlets.
This guy’s a useful player and should’ve probably had an assist had Cyriel Dessers put his shooting boots on this morning.
More to come from him.
Connor Barron – 7
Alex Rae was right when he said Connor Barron still has a lot to learn.
The summer signing from Aberdeen was a Rangers debutant this afternoon but was as fierce and determined as anyone in the middle of a frenetic Tynecastle.
There will be easier afternoons in a Gers jersey for the 21-year-old but he’s already winning over fans with his committed performances, neat feet and progressive passing.
Was at the centre of penalty controversy when Hearts were correctly denied a potential handball penalty.
Mohamed Diomande – 6
There is big hype about Mohamed Diomande and it’s not without good reason.
The Rangers midfielder is a technically gifted player who can spot a pass – see the chance gifted to Cyriel Dessers – and command things from the middle of the park.
But Diomande was wasteful at times in the Rangers midfield today and looked leggy as the game wore on, struggling to impose himself and take charge of proceedings throughout.
Some decent touches but we expect more from Dio and as a result we’ll always judge him more harshly.
Tom Lawrence – 6
Another with clear ability who has struggled to put it together for Rangers consistently, Lawrence showed some nice touches but also fumbled over the ball a little too often.
Sometimes we get the impression the Welshman is trying a little too hard and it’s clear the 30-year-old is still not fully fit despite spending the best part of two years recovering from injuries.
Could be a key player for Rangers going forward and we expect a big season from the former Derby County captain, but we need to see more cutting edge.
Forced a stunning stop from Zander Clark in the second half.
Scott Wright – 5
Industrious verging on anonymous, this was another game for Scott Wright which passed the Rangers winger by.
The Scottish attacker must be the best trainer in world football but we are yet to see him really put it together on the park on a Saturday.
Rangers are desperately short of quality in the final third and whilst that’s not Wright’s fault, he needs to do more to justify the amount of minutes he gets at Rangers.
Had one left foot shot in the first half.
Oscar Cortes – 6
Oscar Cortes had a tough afternoon against Hearts right-back Gerald Taylor but held his own in the first half.
The Colombian has clear talent but did the hard work too, routinely tracking back to help keep Hearts out as they pushed in the first period.
Went down with a knee injury which eventually forced him to be substituted, Cortes’s performance wasn’t immense but it was promising and let’s hope he’s not out for an extended period.
Cyriel Dessers – 4
The Nigerian striker is a likeable guy but by the game is proving that maybe he’s not the man we can rely on score the goals for Rangers.
In the first half play continued to break down whenever it went into the striker and Dessers missed a string of good opportunities to break the deadlock in the game.
Twice fashioning openings for himself in the first half, Dessers showed lovely composure on both occasions to create space in the Hearts box before eventually fluffing his lines.
In the second period the striker somehow hit the bar and crossbar in one foul swoop.
Whilst these chances didn’t go in, the striker was anonymous on a number of occasions when Rangers got into good positions.
Lawrence flashed a ball across goal in the first whilst Matondo did well to engineer an opportunity late on in the second only for Dessers to be caught sleeping on the knock back.
We need our number 9 to be winning this sort of game for us 1-0.
Substitutions
Rabbi Matondo – 4
Routinely makes the wrong decision and for all his energy never looks focused enough when it matters.
Has pace to burn and can find space but at 23-years-old he still plays like an inconsistent 17-year-old.
Vaclav Cerny – 4
Doesn’t look 100% fit and is still trying to work out his surroundings.
Hugged the touchline and looks an interesting option but struggled with intensity of Hearts and Tynecastle.
Will be judged further down the line.
Leon Balogun – 5
Few shaky moments and misplaced passes for Leon Balogun in a nervous reintroduction to the team.
Now the most senior player and this was perhaps playing on his mind as he looked a little shaky coming off the bench.
Kieran Dowell – 5
Dowell had no real time to influence proceedings but looked decent in transition and is a talented, progressive midfielder with an eye for goal.
Injury problems are never far away however, and we’ll wait to see how the next few weeks go.
