Philippe Clement alleviated some of the pressure on his shoulders with Rangers securing a place in the Premier Sports Cup final.
The manager got his second half tactics and substitutes right after a first half in which the Light Blues should have gone in, at least level, but had more than enough chances to be in front.
The appearance of Danilo in particular was an encouraging one with the Brazilian striker showing Rangers fans what they have been missing and posting an Instagram compilation to mark his return to the squad.
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Rangers get glimpse of what Danilo can offer with Instagram video
Hamza Igamane has been the only backup option and, although talented, clearly still has a lot to learn before he can be considered as a genuine threat to the starting striker’s jersey.
Last season, Danilo scored six goals and chipped in with five assists in just under 1000 minutes, a solid return given how unlucky he was with injury.
After a false dawn when he scored on his only league appearance against Ross County, the 25-year old will now be hoping for the sort of run of games needed to show why Rangers paid £6m to Feyenoord for his services.
In his video, Danilo’s touch, movement, pace and mobility are all on show, it’s just a shame that he isn’t in the Europa League squad.
Danilo statistics show that he is Dessers upgrade
In terms of statistics, Danilo didn’t play enough minutes to register on Data MB’s comparison model last season, however, when you look at his form for Feyenoord prior to signing for Rangers, then look at Cyriel Dessers for this season, it is easy to see where he would make a difference.
As with the Instagram compilation, Danilo is simply a better player, capable of getting the ball under control and then bringing others into the game – he doesn’t wait for the ball, he finds space to receive it.
His pass for Vaclav Cerny before the on-form winger hit the post is a great example. In the first half, Dessers had half the pitch to play Nedim Bajrami through on goal, instead, he found the Motherwell centre-half, nowhere near where the ball should have been played.
For Rangers second goal, Danilo doesn’t get involved, but what he does do is unselfish and intelligent. Dessers would have made a straight run looking for the pass, whilst the Rangers No.99 knew that he could create space for Bajrami if he dragged the defenders away.
That, is the difference.
