Glasgow Rangers suffered a big blow in their bid to win the Scottish Premiership title as they were beaten 3-2 away at Ross County on Sunday.
The Light Blues were lethargic and lacking in quality at both ends of the pitch against the Staggies, and the hosts took advantage to great effect.
A first half own goal from Jack Baldwin had the Gers in front at the break but two goals inside the opening four minutes of the second half put County ahead, and they went on to add a third before James Tavernier's consolation from the penalty spot.
Philippe Clement's side now sit four points behind Celtic in the league table, with a game in hand away at Dundee on Wednesday to come, and have a lot of work to do if they want to secure the title this season.
There were a number of poor performers on the day for the Light Blues, including John Lundstram in the middle of the park, but the player who must finally be binned from the starting XI is Cyriel Dessers after his horrorshow.
John Lundstram's performance against Ross County in numbers
The English midfielder set the tone for Rangers' lacklustre display in the middle of the park with his lethargy in possession throughout the game.
Despite having a whopping 108 touches of the ball over the course of the 90 minutes, Lundstram only made one key pass and did not create any 'big chances' for his teammates, which speaks to how little he progressed play to create for his side.
His slow play on the ball translated to his work defensively for Ross County's second goal as he failed to track George Harmon at the back post. Lundstram checked his shoulder at least twice to see the attacker yet opted to almost stand still in the box and allow him to follow up on Jack Butland's save to find the back of the net.
Minutes played
90
Key passes
1
Shots on target
1
Duels won
4/6
Tackles won
3
As you can see in the table above, Lundstram did win the majority of his physical battles on the day, helping him to win three tackles, to cut out attacks.
This shows that there were some good aspects to his performance, even if his lack of intensity on the ball and his error for the second goal meant that it was a poor display overall.
Cyriel Dessers' Ross County horrorshow
The Nigeria international had a nightmare against the Staggies with a number of misses in front of goal that ultimately cost his side three points, or even one point, on the day.
He did not do enough in the final third with the chances that his teammates created for him throughout the afternoon, the best of which represented a 0.68 xG (Expected Goals) opportunity.
That particular opportunity saw the forward's touch bounce the ball up to him with only the goalkeeper to beat but his tentative effort gave the shot-stopper a chance to flick it wide for a corner, when it appeared as though any effort to either side of Laidlaw would have resulted in a goal.
Dessers' finishing ability also left a lot to be desired towards the start of the second half when the ball fell kindly for him into the box but instead of lifting the ball into the empty far corner of the net, his low drive hit the Ross County defender already laying down on the ground.
His work out of possession was also incredibly questionable. The experienced forward, signed from Cremonese last summer, lost 80% (4/5) of his duels throughout the match, including all four of his battles on the deck.
This shows that the opposition centre-backs found it far too easy to get the better of the Gers number nine, who did not do enough to impose himself on them to hold the ball up or win possession back for his team.
These statistics and the context of his missed shots, with zero goals from four efforts, show that the Nigerian striker was worse than Lundstram, who at least won the physical battle of the game whilst the forward was poor on and off the ball.
Dessers, who completed 65% of his attempted passes, must now be brutally ditched from the starting XI and Kemar Roofe, or an attacking midfielder or wide player as a false nine, should be given an opportunity to impress in his place.
Cyriel Dessers' mixed success this season for Rangers
The 29-year-old forward has had mixed success in the Premiership throughout the campaign since his move to Ibrox on a permanent deal under Michael Beale last summer.
He has, in fairness to him, scored 13 goals in 29 appearances and averaged a goal every 141 minutes of league action, which is more than one every other full 90 on average.
However, his decent goal tally has been a result of the exceptional level of chance creation that his teammates have produced over the course of the season.
Cyriel Dessers
17.17
13
-4.17
Connor Goldson
2.73
0
-2.73
Sam Lammers
4.71
2
-2.71
Danilo
6.68
4
-2.68
Fabio Silva
3.64
2
-1.64
As you can see in the table above, no Rangers player has underperformed their xG by more than Dessers in the Premiership this term, with just 13 goals from an xG of 17.17.
The former Serie A marksman has missed a staggering 22 'big chances' in just 22 league starts for the Light Blues – one per start on average – and that illustrates how wasteful he has been at the top end of the pitch.
His work off the ball has also been questionable throughout the season as Dessers has lost a whopping 68% of his duels in the Premiership, which includes 73% of his battles on the ground.
These statistics suggest that the Rangers number nine has not been good enough as a finisher and has not been strong enough to get the better of defenders.
This all contributes to why Clement should finally ditch the striker, who has not been on the bench in the league since the 28th of February, from the XI against Dundee on Wednesday.
