Former Scotland international Neil McCann hammered Malik Tillman after what he judged an ‘unacceptable’ and ‘shocking’ performance during Rangers’ 2-0 Champions League group-stage defeat to Liverpool at Anfield, speaking to the BBC.
And, to think, it all started so well.
The former Bayern Munich starlet was one of Rangers’ brightest sparks during the first few weeks of the new campaign; his confidence, guile and creativity making Tillman one of the first names on Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team-sheet.
It was he who scored that decisive goal in the comeback win over Union Saint-Gilloise. It was he who set up Antonio Colak’s winner away at PSV Eindhoven too.
Tillman has fallen a long way from those lofty standards in recent weeks, however, with his anonymous performance at Anfield catching the eye for all the wrong reasons.
Rangers lose 2-0 to Liverpool in Champions League group-stages
“Tillman, at times, was shocking,” fumes McCann, a three-time Scottish Premiership champion with Rangers.
“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.”
A stunning Trent Alexander-Arnold free-kick and a second-half Mo Salah penalty saw Rangers go down 2-0 to Liverpool; the intensity and the spirit that epitomised last term’s Europa League run nowhere to be seen on Merseyside.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side have mustered neither a point nor a goal in Group A.
“We played him on the right. The same role he played against PSV,” Van Bronckhorst said of Tillman at full-time.
“He is used to the role. It’s always hard to pick players after a game and talk about personal performances of players. But it’s a team effort. We have to act like a team and move like a team. We did that much better in the second half when we made opportunities to go forward.”
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