The Glasgow Rangers fell into yet another defeat under manager Russell Martin when they were beaten 1-0 by Belgian Giants Jenk on Thursday night.
In front of his own fans of Ibrox, the Scottish premiership giant failed to acquire supporters with an impressive performance. Instead, they could have failed inspiration and lost at a larger margin.
To add shaming to the shaming, it was former Celtic striker Hyun Gee O O O O O O O O Hai that could have had three or four goals in the night.
The Rangers were hit with a blow in the first half when central midfielder Mohamed Diomande was shown a straight red card for a challenge at El-Oadi.
The Koiborian midfielder slid in to make the challenge, wrapped his legs over the ball and contacted the opposition players above the ankles.
It was an unfortunate situation, born of bad luck rather than malicious intentions by Diomande, but it is a situation that Martin has to deal with now.
Why Losing Mohamed Diomande is a blow to the ranger
The left-footed star suspension for a clash with Sturm Graz in the Europa League next Thursday is a big hit for the Rangers as he is a key player in the middle of the park.
Diomande has not made the best start of the premier season, losing 56% of the duels and failing to register goals and assists (per sofa score), but his form in the Europa League in the 2024/25 campaign shows he can be a big player for GERS on the European stage.
The 23-year-old star began nine of his 10 appearances at the Philip Clement and Barry Ferguson competition last season, showing off his strength from the Light Blues property.
24/25 Europa League | Mohamed Diomande | Percentile Rank vs CMS |
|---|---|---|
Tackle | 19 | Top 19% |
The duel won | 53 | Top 11% |
Dueling success rate | 54% | Top 35% |
Intercept | 11 | Top 23% |
Ball recovery | 47 | Top 22% |
Blocked shot | 3 | Top 29% |
The foul won | 18 | Top 5% |
Statistics via FOTMOB | ||
As you can see in the table above, Diomande was highly ranked among his fellow central midfielders in the Europa League last season.
These statistics show that he is a very mild and defensively healthy operator.
The Rangers will have to restructure their starting lineup when they face Sturm Graz next week, as Diomande is not available to provide his energy and combativeness in the midfield.
But Martin was able to look for creative solutions to the problem rather than simply putting Conor Baron and Joe Rothwell aside as direct alternatives to the midfield Ibolia star.
Its creative solution is to develop a brand new formation for Sturm Graz. This should not be out of the question given that the current setup has brought four wins in 14 games for the head coach so far.
Instead of unleashing another midfielder at Diomande’s location, Martin should bring Bojan Miovski into the starting lineup to play alongside Youssef Chermiti in a 4-4-2 formation for the Scottish Giants.
Why should Miovski replace Diomande with a ranger?
An exciting winger like Oliver Ant-Man and Juidi Gassama can play on the side, making it a great way for rangers to counter Sturm Glaz and leave Nico Ruskin and Terror Asgard in the middle of the middle.
Chermity made his full debut for Gers Againd Genk’s Gers as he signed deals worth up to £10 million during his summer transfer period from Everton, but found himself frequently crowded.
One of the many issues the Rangers have had this season is that their only centre forward appears to be too isolated and detached from the other players on the pitch.
25/26 statistics as a starter | Mioffsky | Cermiti |
|---|---|---|
The duel won every game | 2.5 | 5.0 |
Success rate for ground dueling | 40% | 33% |
Success rate for air duel | 9% | 33% |
Accuracy | 79% | 67% |
Lost possessions per game | 4.5x | 10x |
Committed fouls for each game | 2.0 | 1.0 |
Statistics via Sofascore | ||
As you can see in the table above, Miovski and Chermiti are dominated by dueling centre-backs in the Light Blues start this season.
So, switching to 4-4-2 and having two number nine to occupy the opposition defender could be better at Gar in physical battles at the top of the pitch, helping to hold the ball more effectively and get more contacts from a wide area from the ball to the ball.
As you can see from the graphics above, Mioffski was a wealth of scorer against Aberdeen in his final spell in Scottish football.
Hailed as a “complete” player by journalist Josh Bunting, Macedonia International scored the Rangers’ first goal last weekend in a 2-0 victory for the Hebernians in the League Cup.
Miovski’s experience and scoring pedigree could become the dream strike partner of 21-year-old Chermiti.
They were able to complement each other well, as the 6-foot-4 Cermithi frame was able to put in physical effort and with a small mobile Mioffski could run backwards to create opportunities for himself and his teammates.
So Diomande’s red card could be a blessing in disguise if Martin forces himself to be creative with a brand new formation that could change the fate of his team.