'It's incredible'...BBC pundit bewildered by what £4.5m Gers star did against Killie
06/05/2024 08:30
If Cyriel Dessers was a film, he would be 'Inception', the Rangers number nine is the very definition of an enigma wrapped inside an enigma.
After the last two games, the Nigeria international's confidence should be high which makes his performance against Kilmarnock all the more bewildering.
With 20 goals and 8 assists for the season, Cyriel Dessers has played his part in helping to get Rangers back in the title race, but there wouldn't be one at all if he didn't make some bizarre decisions.
Cyriel Dessers continues to frustrate for Rangers
At the start of the season, the £4.5m signing from Cremonese looked like a player who had won a competition, not a striker who had just finished playing in Serie A.
After missing pre-season through injury, the last thing Rangers needed was a player trying to adjust to a new team whilst getting caught up with match fitness.
His touch, physicality and finishing was miles away from what had been expected – one goal in his first eight league games was hardly hitting the ground running.
To make matters worse, Danilo, who was fully fit and scoring goals in pre-season, was sitting on the bench wondering what he had to do to get a game.
Analysing seeing off Kilmarnock, Chris Sutton agreed with Kris Boyd about the 29-year old's hesitancy and how it could cost Rangers, speaking on Sky Sports after the game:
"The point Kris makes about Dessers, and he has banged on about it all season, he does miss opportunities.
"He had two or three opportunities in this game to go first time. Most natural finishers would do that. He is always trying to chop back.
"We know how big the game is next week, everybody knows how big the game is next week. It can depend on a moment like that on your striker being decisive, whether Rangers win or lose the game."
One moment in the second half with Rangers winning 2-1 had former Rangers striker and BBC pundit Steven Thompson exasperated:
"I’m just trying to work out what striker, when the goal opens up and your six yards out, would try and spin away from goal.
"I can’t fathom it. Just put your foot through it. It’s incredible."
Dessers needs to keep things simple
Just hit it.
The three words that Philippe Clement has to tattoo onto Cyriel Dessers hand to help Rangers score more goals.
Every week, Dessers will have an opportunity to pull the trigger and he'll check back or hesitate and take too many touches.
Against Kilmarnock, he had two moments when he was clean through on goal, had space on his strongest foot from no more than 12 yards away and chose to cut inside onto his left foot – losing possession in the process.
| Name | Cyriel Dessers |
| Age | 29 |
| Height | 6ft 1inch |
| Appearances | 50 |
| Goals | 20 |
| Assists | 8 |
As Thompson said, it's 'incredible', it genuinely doesn't make any sense what he is trying to do.
Sutton is right, it's so obvious that Dessers isn't a natural goal scorer because every time he is one on one with the goalkeeper or has a clear sight of goal, nobody in the stadium is expecting him to score.
In recent weeks, his movement, work rate and link up play has been more than good enough, but he needs to do extra work on the training ground where he is just shoooting first time from specific areas of the penalty box.
Next week, he might just get one chance and he has to take it.
He didn't on our last trip to Parkhead, and it cost us dearly.
