Cyriel Dessers has been almost the totem pole of Rangers season; when things have been good, they have been very good, however, when they have been bad, they have been very bad.
Philippe Clement, as he has done with several players, has played a major role in improving the 29-year old’s consistency, with a £4.5m transfer fee that hasn’t yet been fully repaid.
Goals like his ones against Real Betis and Hearts go a long way to help, but the next five league games and the Scottish Cup final will be where Cyriel Dessers will really earn his money for Rangers.
READ MORE: Rangers confirmed signings, transfers in and out, loan exits, releases for 2023/24
Cyriel Dessers gets Rangers backing
Dessers’ second goal at Hampden almost perfectly sums up his time at Ibrox.
The timing of his run was perfect to support Todd Cantwell and he should have made life for Craig Gordon a lot more difficult.
For a moment it seemed as though he had ruined all Cantwell’s good work only to then take a harder chance when the rebound came back to him.
Dessers deserves credit for the goal he scored, but also criticism for not taking the chance the first time around.
The opening goal was also well taken, he still had a lot to do when Cantwell played him in.
The overall performance from the Light Blues number nine was much more assured and his 8/10 on Rangers News player ratings was fully deserved.
Speaking after the game, Todd Cantwell was quick to defend Cyriel Dessers from the critics who claim that he isn’t good enough to lead the line for Rangers:
“Cyriel will always work hard, he’ll always do what he’s in the team to do.
“Listen, his numbers speak for themselves.
“Listen, there’s a lot of talk about Cyriel and the way he plays and sometimes he doesn’t compliment us they way it should.
“I think today showed the evidence that you need for it.
“He’s great for us, he works hard for us, he’s a fantastic lad around the changing room and he scores goals.”
Can Dessers be the man to fire Rangers to glory?
With 19 goals and eight assists, Cantwell has a point, however, we’ve all seen how many chances Dessers has missed.
It’s fair to say that he has been unlucky in the three Old Firm derbies.
Two goals have been disallowed and, at Parkhead, he could easily have been given a penalty when he dithered after running through on goal.
What is clear, is that Dessers is massively improved from the player that played under Michael Beale.
He presses and links play better and he is also more consistent with his finishing.
Had he been fit when the season started with a fully functioning attack, there is no reason why he couldn’t already be on 25 goals.
He is also likely to get better service when new wingers are brought in during the summer.
Is he perfect? No. But, as Cantwell says, the numbers speak for themselves.
