Rangers loanee Jon Toral starred in the 2-0 win over Partick Thistle on Saturday.
Jon Toral of Arsenal (L) in action with Andreas Christensen of Chelsea
Pundit Steven Thompson has hailed Rangers playmaker Jon Toral for his performance in the 2-0 win over Partick Thistle on Saturday afternoon, as seen on BBC Sport’s Sportscene.
The Gers were in high spirits having beaten Aberdeen 3-0 last weekend, and they added another victory with a 2-0 win over neighbours Partick Thistle.
Kenny Miller headed Rangers in front in the first half as he met James Tavernier’s superb cross from the right, before neat interplay from Emerson Hyndman and Jon Toral ended with the latter tucking away the all-important second goal.
It’s now three wins in five games for new Rangers boss Pedro Caixinha, and one of the most impressive features of his reign so far is that the Gers have kept four clean sheets in those five games, with three in a row.
Caixinha is also getting the best out of playmaker Toral, who was brought in by former boss Mark Warburton in January, but had struggled to play his best football at Ibrox.
The Spaniard was superb in a deep midfield role on Saturday though, and got forward well to support the attack, as seen with his well-taken goal, his second goal for Rangers since arriving on loan from Arsenal in January.
Former Rangers striker Steven Thompson
Now, pundit Steven Thompson has told Sportscene that he felt Toral was off the pace when he first joined Rangers, but thinks the deeper role in Caixinha’s 4-2-3-1 suits him better than the role he played in Warburton’s 4-3-3.
Thompson highlighted Toral’s range of passing as well as his defensive work as reasons for why he was so impressive against Partick Thistle, and after a slow start to life at Ibrox, the 22-year-old looks to be improving steadily.
“He’s a very composed player, but when he first arrived, I felt he was a wee bit off the pace,” said Thompson. “But I think this new role in the team suits him. He’s got an excellent range of passing, which he displayed on numerous occasions, he offered the defence protection and he broke up the play – he was impressive through the match for me,” he added.
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