Glasgow Rangers head coach Danny Rohl has already achieved something that Russell Martin did not manage in his time at Ibrox by winning successive Scottish Premiership matches.
The German head coach oversaw a 1-0 win at Easter Road against Hibernian on Wednesday night, after beating Kilmarnock 3-1 at Ibrox at the weekend.
A brilliant Jack Butland save from the penalty spot was needed to secure all three points, but it was a resolute display that was worthy of a win.
The match-winner, in terms of the goal that was scored, was Brazilian centre-forward Danilo, who has seemingly revived his career at Ibrox under Rohl.
How Danilo has revived his Rangers career
Prior to Rohl’s arrival in Glasgow, Danilo had been an unused substitute in three of his last four appearances in the matchday squad, and had not featured in the Scottish Premiership since August.
Since the German head coach came through the door, though, the former Feyenoord marksman has scored two goals in two games to lead the Gers to two wins.
Danilo, as you can see in the clip above, brilliantly found the back of the net with a blistering left-footed finish into the bottom corner from the edge of the box to win the game for the Gers.
Chalkboard
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His career at Ibrox, which looked on the ropes under Martin, appears to have been revived because of Rohl’s trust in him, and his performances when called upon in the last two games.
Danilo is not the only star who has revived his career at Rangers since the new manager arrived at the club, though, as Nasser Djiga falls into the same category.
How Nasser Djiga has saved his Rangers career
Prior to Rohl’s first match in charge, Football FanCast suggested that the Wolves loanee could be in danger of being ditched in January, because of his errors during Martin’s time in charge.
Before Wednesday night’s win over Hibs, Djiga had been an unused substitute in six of his last eight appearances in the matchday squad, which shows that he fell way down the pecking order under the former Gers head coach.
Rohl’s decision to go to a back three system has provided the Burkina Faso international with an opportunity to revive his career at Ibrox, and his performance against Hibernian suggests that he has taken it.
Minutes
90
90
89
Tackles won
2/3
0/0
1/2
Clearances
9
7
4
Interceptions
3
0
1
Last man tackles
1
0
0
Ground duels won
3/4
2/2
4/7
Aerial duels won
4/4
2/3
0/0
As you can see in the table above, the Wolves loanee was the standout defender in the back three with his exceptional display at Easter Road, winning more duels, making more clearances, making more tackles, and making more interceptions than John Souttar and Derek Cornelius.
He was incredibly aggressive in his defending to mop up situations before they got too close to Butland, and his standout moment came when he recovered brilliantly to make a last-man challenge in the box in the first half to prevent a one-on-one situation.
Djiga was even better than Danilo, who lost 100% (2/2) of his duels on the night, because it was his all-round defensive dominance that played a major role in Rangers coming away with all three points, whilst the Brazilian had one moment of magic in an otherwise uneventful outing.
Overall, a mixture of Rohl’s tactical tweak and Djiga’s brilliance when called upon has seemingly saved the loanee centre-back’s career at Ibrox, for now.
