Against Benfica, Clement might alter his starting lineup a little.
The weekend saw Glasgow Rangers lose shockingly, 2-1, to Motherwell at Ibrox in a performance that was out of character for Philippe Clement.
The Light Blues were released from custody, though, as Hearts performed a tremendous service to the team on Sunday by defeating Celtic 2-0 in an incredible victory that keeps the Gers two points ahead of the opposition in the Premiership table.
With nine league games remaining, each player must step up to ensure that this doesn’t happen again. A few players who have looked good in recent weeks put in subpar outings against the Steelmen; John Souttar was particularly bad, finding it difficult to handle Theo Blair.
Numbers from John Souttar’s matchup with Motherwell
The Scot and Connor Goldson had developed a strong defensive relationship, but Motherwell found it difficult to handle Blair’s aggression and his frequent long balls over the top.
During the unusual loss at Ibrox, the former Jambos defender made zero tackles or interceptions, lost 18 possessions, and committed one foul in addition to winning one of his two ground duels.
After only ten minutes, he was at fault for the opener, which decided the game’s outcome and prevented the Light Blues from ever looking comfortable.
After the match, Goldson spoke out in support of his teammate, stating:
| John Souttar against Motherwell | |
|---|---|
| Accurate passes | 58 |
| Possession lost | 18 |
| Tackles | 0 |
| Interceptions | 0 |
| Big chances missed | 2 |
| Via Sofascore | |
“I was disappointed on Saturday to see people disparaging him online because he may have made a few mistakes in one game, but we’ve all been there—I’ve been written off by Rangers fans many times as well.”
But Clement may decide to make a change at the back ahead of the match against Benfica.
John Souttar might be replaced by Leon Balogun against Benfica.
The Nigerian re-signed with the team for a one-year deal last summer, bringing some experience to the group.
Despite having only appeared in 14 games thus far, the veteran has shown himself to be a reliable player when he has been on the field.
This season, the defender has played in 11 league games. He has assisted his team in keeping a clean sheet in seven of those games, made 1.5 tackles and interceptions each contest, and won an incredible 8.3 duels overall per game (a success rate of 70%), demonstrating his effectiveness when used.
Benfica will be a difficult team to beat, but starting Balogun instead of Souttar makes the most sense and could provide Clement with new strength in the middle of the defence.
The next Premiership match isn’t until the following weekend, so maybe this respite from league activity is a good thing after the disappointing outcome against Motherwell.
When the Belgian team travels to Portugal this week, he will now watch how his team responds to such a setback, and any kind of victory would be considered a huge accomplishment.
There will be some adjustments, but Balogun ought to be paired with Goldson, that much is certain.
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