Rangers were given a lesson in elite level finishing against Lyon in the Europa League.
The difference in composure when it came to the final ball and finish between the two teams was startling.
Rangers did enough to put Lyon under pressure, however, the manager has come under fire for his tactics and the Ibrox faithful are growing tired of a squad that they aren’t able to trust.
Jack Butland frustrated at Rangers approach vs Lyon
Jack Butland might be getting called into Philippe Clement’s office too with the Gers number one seeming to criticise the game plan:
“They are a really good team with serious individual quality.
“The disappointment is we have given them too many opportunities to showcase that.
“We needed a different approach.
“There wasn’t enough from us at the moments we needed to foul and stop them getting into their stride.
“We gave them easy opportunities to showcase their serious individual talent.
“It feels like one that looks worse than it is. We allowed it to be a little too end-to-end.
“At home we want to put the pressure on. We put them under some pressure early on.
“They couldn’t play out from the back.
“We managed to get them stressed.
“But we couldn’t keep it up and we gave away opportunities.
“It starts to get away from you.”
It was a bizarre game.
In possession, Rangers looked comfortable and progressed the ball into the final third consistently.
There were also more than enough chances created to be going in level at half-time.
Is Butland having a dig at Clement’s tactics?
Butland’s comments can be interpreted a couple of different ways.
The 31-year old could be talking about how Rangers set up to deal with Lyon, however, he could also be talking about individual mentality in terms of winning personal battles.
Steven Gerrard used to talk about earning the right to play and too many Rangers players didn’t win their one v one duels across the pitch.
This argument makes more sense given the way that Butland talked about making it too easy for Lyon to get into their stride.
The best example, was the difference between James Tavernier and Neraysho Kasanwirjo.
When the skipper was replaced on the hour mark, he left the field a dejected figure knowing that he had had a bad night at the office.
Every attack down Tavernier’s side caused problems because he was gifting too much space.
For Alexandre Lacazette’s 25-yard screamer, Tavernier gives him too much space to cut inside and then just gives in leaving the central defenders exposed.
When Kasanwirjo came on, he shut down Lyon’s left-hand side almost immediately by marking his opposite number tighter and by being more aggressive.
Nothing complicated, just application and desire.
The type of approach that Butland was talking about.
