da bet esporte： After going nine points clear of their arch-rivals Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership table, Glasgow Rangers could have another ace up their sleeve if recent reports are to be believed…
What’s the word?
da esoccer bet： Rangers have struggled against Kilmarnock in recent years but Steven Gerrard sprang several surprises as Cedric Itten and Ryan Jack replaced Ianis Hagi and Steven Davis respectively in the starting line-up.
James Tavernier heaped praise on Itten for his performance. The club captain told Rangers TV: “Cedric did a brilliant job for us today.
“He’s been on the sidelines watching, he’s seen Kemar get the headlines, Alfredo get headlines, and he’s a credit to himself, he’s a great professional.
“He’s been working really hard on the training pitch, he was asked to come into the team today, and he did himself proud and did the team proud.”
The Gers have now scored 43 goals in 18 games this season so far, with Itten bagging a brace against Motherwell last month.
Shades of Prso
It’s fair to say that Itten hasn’t had the easiest start to the season, as he has found his chances limited under Gerrard so far.
However, the 23-year-old could be given a new lease of life on the right wing, which won’t be good news for Ianis Hagi, who has arguably struggled in recent weeks, whilst the least said about Jordan Jones the better.
Itten, who has predominantly played as a centre-forward in his career so far, was handed a rare start on the right wing, with Alfredo Morelos up front and Ryan Kent on the opposite flank.
Standing at 1.89m tall, the 3-cap Switzerland international is cut from a similar cloth to Dado Prso.
It’s well-known that Prso mostly operated in a central position but he was also moved to a right-wing role by Rangers legend Alex McLeish, who described him as “his best Rangers signing”.
Whilst only time will tell if Itten will be able to hit the same heights of his predecessor, who scored 26 goals in 96 games for the Gers, his versatility could be an added bonus to all parties involved.
Once lauded as a “very talented” player by former Liverpool star Markus Babbel, Itten has scored two goals in nine games in the Scottish Premiership so far, whilst he is averaging 1.3 shots per game, via WhoScored.
GlasgowLive gave the youngster a grade of 7/10, claiming that he “showed good strength and clever footwork to hold off his opponents” whilst he “was denied by a fantastic Rogers save, but put in a good shift on the right of Rangers’ front three.”
Gerrard’s side travel to Lisbon to take on Benfica in the Europa League group stages on Thursday night. The Gers weren’t at their best against Killie but they still got the job done, with the Swiss dynamo impressing on the right of the front three for the first time. What better way for Itten to show that he is a valuable asset by starting against Benfica later this week?
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