Clement must replace Dessers with Rangers star in different role

The 6 foot 1 dynamo could be unleashed up front in place of the Nigerian forward.

Glasgow Rangers are back in action in the Scottish Premiership this weekend as they travel away to face Dundee on Sunday with the chance to remain top of the table.

The Light Blues are currently two points ahead of Celtic, who play against St. Johnstone on Saturday, in the division and a win would ensure that they remain first, irrespective of how their rivals get on.Philippe Clement’s side do come into this match, however, off the back of a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Benfica in the last 16 of the Europa League on Thursday night.Rafa Silva, who was onside by the tightest of margins, scored the only goal of the game for the away side, who progressed through to the quarter-finals with a 3-2 win on aggregate.

The Belgian head coach could now look to make some changes from his starting XI for that match after the Gers struggled to create chances and cause problems for the Portuguese outfit at Ibrox.Cyriel Dessers had a howler up front with a poor display for the Light Blues and Clement must now relocate Fabio Silva into a centre-forward position to replace him against Dundee.

Cyriel Dessers’ stats against Benfica at Ibrox

The experienced striker was selected to lead the line for the Gers in a huge European match under the lights at Ibrox but failed to provide the energy or quality needed to match the occasion.Dessers cut an isolated figure at the top end of the pitch as his lack of mobility meant that he was not able to hold onto the ball or cause problems for the Benfica defence with runs in behind or down the channels to create room for his teammates.

The 29-year-old marksman only had 18 touches of the ball in 77 minutes of the game, despite Rangers having 65% of the possession, which suggests that he did not do enough to get involved in the match, by either making runs to create options to pass to or dropping deep to get on the ball.His teammates did, however, create 0.28 xG (Expected Goals) worth of chances for him in front of goal but both of his efforts were blocked by defenders. His best opportunity came when Scott Wright played him through in the box during the first half but the striker was too slow to get the shot away, and it was blocked relatively easily.The 6 foot 1 forward also struggled in the air as Benfica’s players beat him in five of their six aerial duels throughout the match, which shows that he did not do enough to win flicks-ons or knock the ball down to his fellow attackers to retain possession for the team.

His howler at Ibrox against the Portuguese giants was not a one-off, either, as the former Cremonese forward also struggled in the first leg earlier this month.

Cyriel Dessers’ stats in the first leg against Benfica

The Nigeria international also started the first leg against Benfica and struggled to make an impact in or out of possession for the Scottish giants.Why Fabio Silva should play through the middle

With Kemar Roofe’s last start having been in October 2023, Silva may be the only viable first-team alternative to Dessers in the centre-forward position.

The Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee, whose work rate has been dubbed “infectious” by Connor Goldson, has been deployed on the left flank in recent weeks, including as a starter against Benfica on Thursday, but should now be relocated to striker to replace the Nigerian lightweight.Todd Cantwell and Rabbi Matondo’s respective returns from injury mean that the Light Blues boss does have options to call upon in the wide areas, as one of them – or Ross McCausland – could take Silva’s place on the wing, which would free the 6 foot 1 ace up to play through the middle.

Whilst Dessers has zero goals and assists combined in his last five games, the Portuguese youngster has produced one goal in his last two outings, and two goals and one penalty won in his last six.

He also, rather harshly, did not get credited with the assist for Sterling’s goal against Benfica in Portugal, when his ball across the box took a slight deflection off a defender and dropped for the midfielder to find the back of the net from close range.Had that counted as an assist, Silva would have four goals, one assist, and one penalty won, in his last 11 appearances in all competitions for the Scottish giants.His most recent strike came against Hibernian in the SFA Cup last weekend as he, as you can see in the clip above, brilliantly worked room to find the bottom corner.

The 21-year-old loanee has been in impressive form in front of goal, whilst Dessers has struggled badly of late, and that is why Clement should unleash him as the starting number nine against Dundee.Sunday’s opponents have conceded the joint-most goals in the league (50) and their struggles defensively could present Silva with an opportunity to continue his goalscoring run if the manager relocates him to the striker position.

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