Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has spoken of a key reason for selecting Leon Balogun at right-back yesterday in the 1-1 draw with Celtic at Parkhead.
The towering Nigerian international had a mixed afternoon on the pitch, before he was replaced by Nathan Patterson in the 56th minute.
Celtic got a lot of joy on their left flank in the first half and it was a ball in between Balogun and stand-in captain Connor Goldson that led to the opener for the home team.
The Berlin-born player at times looked like a man playing out of position as he was found wanting on a few occasions and as expected, his attacking impact was limited.
Despite that, he had a pivotal contribution to Rangers goal as it was his header that Alfredo Morelos latched on to, to grab the equaliser – the Colombian’s eagerly anticipated first goal against Celtic.
This is something that Gerrard had in mind when selecting Balogun as told to Rangers official website:
“We knew we could cause them problems on set-pieces.”
“It was the first decent bit of quality we showed from a set-piece point of view.”
“Leon did fantastic and that is a reason why we put him in the team as he is a threat in both boxes, but also, his experience – he got a good run, a good header and Alfredo gobbles it up at the back post.”
Dilemma
With Nathan Patterson taking a knock in the game against Slavia Prague, it seems that Gerrard was protecting the youngster by not demanding a full game from him.
He certainly made an impact in the second-half yesterday, particularly adding a welcome attacking dimension to Rangers right-hand side.
Balogun did not have his best game for sure, but he still played his part.
Over the next few games, it will be interesting to see how the righ-back slot is filled.
Patterson is likely to be hit with a ban in relation to the covid breach incident with the hearing set for later this week, on Thursday.
Balogun playing in every game is an unlikely prospect so this will be a matter for Gerrard to ponder over the international break.