Villarreal 2-2 Rangers: Player ratings

Allan McGregor 8.0

Questions over the goal, but it was some strike from Carlos Bacca. Thereafter, McGregor was excellent, making two fine saves and being constantly off his line in the sweeper keeper role. His awareness and anticipation in doing so were a major reason why Villarreal, despite getting in plenty of dangerous positions, couldn’t create too many clear chances.

James Tavernier 6.7

Got up and down the pitch well, and neither excelled nor embarrassed at either end. Not his best performance but he was solid enough.

Connor Goldson 6.9

Had a couple of fine moments of one-on-one defending, particularly when casually coming away with the ball while in a full-pelt race with Bacca, but lost his man once or twice at corners. A mixed display.

Joe Worrall 6.0

Didn’t look outstanding exactly, with some dodgy positioning and unconvincing ways of dealing with balls into the area. No major clangers, but he may find Gareth McAuley ahead of him in the pecking order if he can’t improve. Since he must have been a last minute pick (although we still don’t know what happened with Katic) then we’ll give him a free pass for tonight.

Borna Barisic 6.6

An extremely mixed game, with some good moments of defending and some notably poor ones, particularly for Villarreal’s second goal. Was decent going forward, capped off by a fine assist for Kyle Lafferty’s strike.

Andy Halliday 7.0

The only player who didn’t play beneath his level in the first half, although faded away in the second. Becoming an important part of the squad under Steven Gerrard, which is as pleasant to see as it is surprising.

Lassana Coulibaly 6.5

After a fine performance at the weekend, was very average today. Couldn’t disrupt Villarreal’s attacking play with either aggression or positioning, and had some slack moments in possession. Needs to get back up to speed after his layoff.

Scott Arfield 4.0

A decent finish for his goal, but it was essentially the only thing he got right all night. Constantly well off the pace, dwelling on the ball and picking the wrong pass. Needs drastic improvement and should be behind Ovie Ejaria in the pecking order when the latter is back in shape. Awful.

Ryan Kent 6.2

A dreadful first half where he was utterly anonymous save for a moronic giveaway in a dangerous area was followed by a much-improved second 45 minutes. After such an excellent display at the weekend against Dundee, it was disappointing to see, but few players were doing much in that first half.

Daniel Candeias 6.2

Another player who was poor after a fine performance at the weekend. Couldn’t get much going at all with some poor crossing and then several terrible passes when he was put into the middle later on (which, to be fair, is a role he in no way has the skillset to perform.) Good defensive discipline saved his performance.

Kyle Lafferty 6.9

Some clumsy moments in the first half, but held the ball up very well and got his goal. Proved, if there were any doubt, that he is a more than viable option in place of Alfredo Morelos when required.

Substitutes

Glenn Middleton 8.3 - MAN OF THE MATCH

Changed the game with his directness, strength and speed. The boy seems to create a chance almost every time he gets the ball, and this time he also showed his passing ability with a great Assist Before The Assist for the second equaliser. Should be involved plenty.

Ross McCrorie 6.7

Brought on to steady things up and did his customary job of cleaning up any loose ends with precision and efficiency. Poor on the ball.

Graham Dorrans 6.7

An almost alarming substitution to make. His only contribution was what should have been the game-winning assist.