Kris Boyd blasts Tavernier for what he saw him do in Rangers’ loss to Lyon.

Kris Boyd criticized James Tavernier for “sleeping” when Lyon scored their fourth goal against Rangers on Thursday (3 October)

Boyd, speaking on Sky Sports Scotland (3 October, 9:21pm), was impressed by Rayan Cherki’s pass for Malick Fofana to score at Ibrox, but he was critical of Tavernier’s defensive awareness.

Cherki slipped by the “shocking” Connor Barron down the right before passing across the face to Fofana, who beat Tavernier at the far post to make it 4-1 as Lyon dominated the Europa League tie.

Boyd commented, “Cherki on the right-hand side, his feet are fantastic.

“He leaves Connor Barron for dead, then fires it across to his fellow winger Fofana, who comes around at the back post to smash it into the net.

“James Tavernier was sleeping, just as the ball came across there, and Fofana smashes it in for his second goal.”

Rangers, led by James Tavernier, finished second to Lyon.
The Gers’ promising start at Ibrox suddenly feels like a distant memory, with Tavernier denied by Lyon goalkeeper Lucas Perri just 90 seconds in.

However, in a tremendously open game, Tavernier and his teammates were often caught off guard by Cherki, Fofana, and Alexandre Lacazette, who put the Bears to the sword.

Tavernier’s attacking numbers are better than his defensive ones, which is nothing new at Ibrox, and Lyon took advantage of Philippe Clement’s obvious vulnerabilities in the backline with ruthless efficiency.

The Light Blues were taken off guard for three of Lyon’s four goals, and while the final one came with the hosts boxed in deep within their own half, Tavernier couldn’t do enough to keep them out.