Rangers’ hopes of Champions League progression were all but extinguished last night, as Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s outfit slipped to a third successive defeat in the competition at Anfield.
Up against a Liverpool side who have hardly been in the best of form of late – having been held to a 3-3 draw by Brighton and Hove Albion at the weekend – the Old Firm side were simply unable to lay a glove on their opponents, registering just two shots on target in the game in total.
A stunning, early free-kick from Trent Alexander-Arnold and a second-half spot-kick from Mohamed Salah sealed a deserved win for the hosts on the night, with the Scottish giants having had veteran stopper Allan McGregor to thank for keeping the scoreline respectable, the 40-year-old making eight saves in what was a brilliant individual performance.
Elsewhere, however, there were notable villains for the Glasgow side, with summer signing Malik Tillman one such figure who distinctly underwhelmed, recording just 18 touches in his grim, 66-minute outing.
The 20-year-old forward lost possession on seven occasions and won just two of his five ground duels, while also proving ineffective in an attacking sense as he failed to complete a single dribble nor provide a single key pass.
The £5k-per-week man’s frustrating showing was epitomised just before the hour mark as his sliding challenge inadvertently played in opposition forward Diogo Jota, with the Gers thankfully seeing the aforementioned McGregor tip the Portugal international’s effort over the crossbar.
The Athletic’s Jordan Campbell was particularly critical of the youngster’s performance, suggesting at one stage that the playmaker “couldn’t be bothered making an option” for teammate Ryan Kent, with the journalist going on to state that the two-cap menace needs to be more “energetic.”
Pundit Neil McCann echoed that view in his post-match analysis, brutally stating that:
“Tillman at times was shocking, absolutely. I can forgive him for having bad touches, I can forgive him for making wrong decisions or passes. But I can’t forgive him for not trying. At times tonight it looked like he wasn’t trying.
“He has shown that already this season. I said he could be one of the players of the season and I think he has ability to show he is a top player but you can’t just walk around the park and turn it on when you feel like it. That is unacceptable.”
That accusation of putting in a lack of effort is not one that any player will want to be on the end of, although the on-loan Bayern Munich man seemingly does need to do a lot more to make an impact in games, with just two goals and two assists to his name in 14 appearances in all competitions so far this term.
Having been on the bench in recent weeks in the Scottish Premiership, it was somewhat of a surprise to see the German-born starlet recalled to the starting lineup for the clash with Jurgen Klopp’s side, although he has seemingly played his way out of the team again for this weekend’s meeting with St Mirren.