Rangers midfielder Carlos Pena scored twice against St Johnstone on Friday.
Carlos Alberto Pena of Rangers scores against Partick Thistle
Rangers picked up another impressive away win on Friday night, as they beat St Johnstone 3-0 at McDiarmid Park, with Carlos Pena scoring twice.
Manager Pedro Caixinha has seen his side respond well to losing 2-0 at home to Celtic, first beating Hamilton Academical before the international break, and now sweeping St Johnstone aside.
The star of the show was Mexican midfielder Pena, who enjoyed his best performance in a Rangers shirt since signing from Chivas Guadalajara over the summer.
Caixinha has often spoken about Pena’s ability to get forward and score goals from midfield, and he showed exactly that against St Johnstone, breaking into the box to convert James Tavernier’s cross for the opening goal.
It was the same combination again in the second half, as Tavernier’s cross was this time headed home by Pena at the back post, showing great movement and anticipation to attack the ball.
Last month, Pena was slammed by pundit Chris Sutton in the Daily Record for being unable to run or even move against Celtic, questioning his attitude – something particularly concerning given that his £2.7million fee (Daily Record) was the most Rangers have paid for a player since their liquidation in 2012.
However, Pena took a huge step towards where Caixinha wants him to be, serving as that late runner into the box that must be tracked, which not only makes Pena dangerous, but can also take some attention away from Alfredo Morelos.
Pena still has some way to go until he can truly prove Sutton wrong and justify his £2.7million move to Rangers after a slow start in Glasgow, but the signs from Friday’s win were certainly promising, with Caixinha hoping he can improve his fitness and really emerge as a top goalscoring midfielder at Ibrox.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
