Glasgow Rangers are back in action in the Scottish Premiership this Sunday as they prepare to travel away from Ibrox to take on Kilmarnock.
The Light Blues have had a weekend off due to the October international break, whilst a number of their stars have been away playing for their respective nations.
Connor Barron and John Souttar were both a part of the Scotland squad that claimed a fantastic 0-0 draw against Portugal in the Nations League on Tuesday night.
The former did not get off the bench, after being called up from the U21 side, but the former put on a defensive masterclass with his performance.
John Souttar's performance against Scotland in numbers
Souttar was selected to start at the heart of the defence for Scotland and was tasked with dealing with a front three of Juventus’ Francisco Conceição, Al Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo, and Liverpool’s Diogo Jota.
Per Capology, the trio earn a whopping €4m (£3.3m) per week in wages, €3.8m-per-week of which is Ronaldo’s significant Al Nassr pay packet.
Despite the Portuguese attack’s high-valued operators, Souttar silenced Roberto Martinez’s forward line with ease in what was a terrific display at the back.
The Scottish titan won 100% (5/5) of his duels against the Portugal players, winning three of his three ground battles and both of his aerial contests, and this shows that the Gers star did it with ease.
He also made one block, one tackle, and five clearances, whilst no player was able to dribble past him, which speaks to his defensive solidity throughout the game.
His superb defending meant that Ronaldo only managed one shot on target in 90 minutes on the pitch, which he failed to find the back of the net with, and this shows that the attacker silenced the legendary striker – as well as Jota and Conceição.
John Souttar's form for Rangers this season
Philippe Clement will now be hoping that Souttar can take the confidence gained from this outstanding performance into his display against Kilmarnock in the Premiership this weekend.
The Scottish colossus has enjoyed a strong but not perfect start to the season in the top-flight alongside experienced Dutchman Robin Propper for the Light Blues.
He has started all seven of the club’s matches in the division and they are currently five points behind leaders Celtic and Aberdeen, which shows that there is still plenty of work left to be done.
Appearances
7
Pass accuracy
92%
Clean sheets
5
Ground duel success rate
56%
Aerial duel success rate
61%
As you can see in the table above, the former Hearts star has helped Rangers to keep five clean sheets in seven games but has not been completely dominant in his duels, winning less than 60% of his ground battles.
Notably, Souttar lost six of his nine duels and all four of his contests on the deck in the 3-0 defeat to Celtic, which shows that his dueling is an area for improvement.
The Scotland international won 100% of his duels against a £3.3m-per-week front three against Portugal and should look to replicate that level of physical dominance in the Premiership moving forward.
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