Gerrard altering Candeias’ position is his first fascinating tactical decision at Rangers

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Rangers beat FK Shkupi 2-0 at Ibrox on Thursday night.

Rangers beat FK Shkupi 2-0 on Thursday evening to take an advantage in the first leg of their Europa League qualifying tie, marking Steven Gerrard’s first competitive game with a victory.

The Gers have enjoyed a busy summer, completing nine signings since Steven Gerrard’s appointment as manager, and he took charge of his first competitive game on Thursday.

Macedonian side FK Shkupi arrived at Ibrox hoping to repeat Progres Niederkorn’s shock win over Rangers last summer, but fell behind in the first half as Jamie Murphy’s shot found its way into the net.

Rangers were hugely disappointing in the second half, but did grab a late second with James Tavernier scoring from the penalty spot after Murphy had been bundled over.

Ultimately, Rangers failed to live up to expectations at a packed Ibrox. Gerrard will be demanding better, and he made one intriguing tactical decision by playing Daniel Candeias as a central midfielder.

Gerrard utilised Ross McCrorie as a holding midfielder, with Scott Arfield and Candeias ahead of him, whilst Josh Windass and Jamie Murphy flanked Alfredo Morelos in attack, with Gerrard testing a new tactic.

Candeias continued to float out to the right hand side, creating overloads down that flank with Tavernier and Windass, with the trio combining well in the opening stages, but the final ball wasn’t quite up to scratch.

Candeias floated in and out of the game before being substituted on a yellow card early into the second half, and whilst the overloads could be something to explore moving forward, Gerrard’s fascinating decision maybe didn’t pay off in the way he wanted.

With Gerrard now having a host of central midfielders at his disposal – McCrorie, Arfield, Ovie Ejaria, Ryan Jack, Greg Docherty, Graham Dorrans, Jordan Rossiter, Andy Halliday and Lassana Coulibaly – it seems unlikely that Candeias will have many more chances in that role, but it showed that Gerrard isn’t afraid to experiment with new ideas early into the job.