These Four Stats From Ianis Hagi’s Display Against Livingston Will Worry Rangers Fans

Content Editor

4 years ago

Rangers attacking midfielder Ianis Hagi was taken off after just 57 minutes against Livingston yesterday. Despite desperately needing a goal, manager Steven Gerrard opted to take off one of his key playmakers.

Especially with Joe Aribo missing the game at the Tony Macaroni Arena due to injury, the Light Blues really needed the Romanian international to step up to the plate and provide some creativity.

However, Hagi was not able to make any impact on the game, and it was a worrying sign considering he has yet to hit form since his permanent move from Racing Genk in the summer.

Press the next page, as we look at some concerning stats from yesterday’s 0-0 draw.

Possession Lost

Hagi gave away the ball 13 times before the game reached the hour mark. A playmaker will certainly lose the ball more often than other players on the pitch due to the nature of his role but he was careless in possession at times.

With a 75% pass completion rate on the day, his accuracy was 11% down on the 3-0 win against St Johnstone just a few days before.

Dribbles Completed

Getting on a ball and getting past your man is a key part of playing out wide. While Hagi is indeed more comfortable in a number 10 role, the Romanian is still capable of dribbling pretty successfully when in possession.

He made four dribble attempts against St Johnstone and kept possession on three occasions. During his 57 minutes on the pitch versus Livingston, he attempted zero.

Shots

Playing in a wide forward position, Hagi is also expected to be a direct goal threat but he did not have a single shot on target yesterday evening. One of his attempts sailed off target while the other was blocked.

Hopefully, this is not the start of a worrying trend as he had just one shot off target against St Johnstone, following his five attempts versus St Mirren and four on an opening day against Aberdeen.

Crosses

Although Hagi loves to come inside and get involved in the middle of the park, part of his job is still to deliver crosses when he plays out on the right-hand side.

However, against Livingston, he did not put in a single delivery into the box. He has attempted just six in his first four league games, and none of them have been successful. For a player who cost £3m, it’s simply isn’t good enough and he needs to up his game as soon as possible.

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