Rangers secured a seventh consecutive win with a 3-0 victory over Kilmarnock, but the scoreline only partly reflects the performance. While fans may have been bemused by a subdued second half that let Kilmarnock off the hook after a dominant opening, there was a quiet sense of a gameplan well executed.
Beneath the basic 4-2-3-1 shape, two tactical tweaks from Derek McInnes transformed James Penrice from an effective third midfield enforcer against Celtic before the international break into Rangers' most potent creative force against Kilmarnock.
How Rangers set up against Kilmarnock
McInnes named the same starting XI that beat Celtic, but the de facto setups were very different. At Parkhead, Penrice tucked in as an auxiliary midfielder, with Olwethu Makhanya becoming the effective left-back in a 3-4-3 shape. That crowded out the midfield and prevented Celtic from creating through the middle.
Against Kilmarnock, McInnes did not sacrifice Penrice to overload the engine room. Instead, the left-back was asked to focus on creating down the left, teaming up with Djeidi Gassama to devastating effect in the first half. The base shape was far closer to the 4-2-3-1 on paper, albeit lopsided, with Penrice far higher up the park than Dujon Sterling on the opposite flank.
Penrice and Gassama isolate Kilmarnock's right side
Penrice played more crosses (8) and created more chances (4) than any other player on the park, and his pairing with Gassama set up all three goals. Gassama and Dan Neil were tied for second on three chances created, with Neil's increased attacking involvement coming from McInnes' second big tweak.
Nicolas Raskin was Rangers' driving force against Celtic and Kilmarnock, but Kilmarnock flooded his area to prevent him breaking through. McInnes swapped his midfielders around, with Neil playing most of the game on the left of the pivot and Kevin Kelsy dropping in to help Raskin. That left Neil free as the out-ball on the left, creating an overload where Cathal McCarthy and MJ Kamara had Neil, Penrice and Gassama to deal with by themselves.
Gassama assisted two goals and Penrice the other. The switched roles between Neil and Raskin showed in the numbers: Raskin had the most passes overall (79), 20 more than Neil (59), but Neil played more passes into the final third (24 vs 23) with a higher accuracy percentage.
Penrice emerging as a tactical key
Penrice is rapidly becoming one of the central tactical keys to McInnes' Rangers. He is capable of being an explosive attacking left-back, as against Kilmarnock, or sacrificing his creative influence to become an extra midfield body in games where McInnes deems it necessary.
More than that, he is living evidence of the tactical dexterity from McInnes that has led Rangers to seven wins on the spin and back into a title race that once looked beyond them.
