Glasgow Rangers returned to winning ways in the Scottish Premiership, defeating Hearts 1-0 at Ibrox on Sunday evening.
The Light Blues started the scoring in the sixth minute of the encounter with a bundling finish from Cyriel Dessers, and that was all it took to secure all three points.
The Scottish giants’ performance was far from ideal, as they tied with Hearts for ‘big chances’ created (2), but it was enough to secure the victory.
Nicolas Raskin, a center midfielder for Philippe Clement’s side, stood out with his performance and was named Player of the Match in the stadium.
Nicolas Raskin’s performance in numbers.
The Belgian midfielder has had a good run of midfield games in recent weeks, and his performance on Sunday evening demonstrated how much he is benefiting from it.
Raskin played the entire 90 minutes at Ibrox, continuously competing all over the pitch to win duels and assist his team defend, while also making things tick in possession.
As shown in the table above, the former Standard Liege player was extremely aggressive for Rangers, winning the majority of his duels in midfield.
He was also rather consistent in possession of the ball, completing 85% of his attempted passes, although he did not create a single scoring opportunity for his teammates.
Raskin was not the only Light Blues midfielder to shine in the middle of the pitch; Mohamed Diomande also performed admirably.
Mohamed Diomande’s performance in numbers.
The Ivorian ace was chosen in place of Tom Lawrence, who was sidelined with a thigh injury, and his performance more than justified his selection.
It was more diligent than you would expect from an offensive midfielder, but he is not a natural in that position, so it was to be anticipated.
Diomande contributed to Rangers’ three-point victory by consistently putting pressure on and closing down Hearts players when they possessed the ball.
The left-footed fighter, who received a Sofascore rating of 7.4/10, won six of his ten ground duels and both of his aerial battles, demonstrating that he dominated opponents on the ground and in the air in duels.
He made two tackles and one interception without being dribbled past once, and he finished two of his three attempted dribbles, demonstrating that Diomande was just as defensively impressive as Raskin.
Meanwhile, the Ivorian dynamo completed 86% of his attempted passes and created three chances for his teammates, demonstrating that he tried to make things happen in the final third and was consistent with his use of the ball, despite not receiving an assist.
Overall, Diomande and Raskin were equally impressive in the middle of the field and Clement will undoubtedly be pleased with his players’ dynamism in that area of the field.
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