Thread by @NilsStrpn

Last Thursday, Clement and his players welcomed Tottenham at Ibrox. Rangers picked up a good point after a fine team performance.

The result was due in no small part to the shadowy work of 𝙉𝙞𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙨 𝙍𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙣.

[IN DEPTH ANALYSIS]

Positioned as #6 a little below Diomande, Raskin was useful in many game contexts. Pressing, recovering the ball, finding IP solutions under pressure and distributing the ball.

He gradually came into his own during the match.

[DEFENSIVE ACTIONS]

Raskin played like a Bulldog OOP.

He jumped on his opponents to win the ball back, all with impressive aggression and grinta.

With his tackling, shoulder play and quick feet on the ground, he was well up to PL standard.

[ANTICIPATION]

One reason why Raskin kept the Tottenham midfield at bay is his excellent anticipation.

Several scans around him before the CB pass + speed to get in front of his opponent.

He cut out a lot of the opposition's passes, closed the gaps and after that (whenever possible), went forward again.

[HELP HIS TEAM TO BREATHE]

Thanks to his presence on the second ball and his good side changes, he was able to give more time and space to his CB to built.

He succeeded in giving his team confidence with the ball.

[UNDER PRESSURE]

Surely my favorite aspect of his game.

He managed to find solutions under Tottenham's heavy pressure, thanks to his technical quality, composure and cognitive skills (scans of the game situation around him).

As well as not getting eaten up by the English pressure, he managed the feat of passing vertically through the pressure to advance up the pitch.

TOP.

[PASSING]

He provided some interesting forward passes at the right tempo and with the right dosage.

But that's not what interests me most about him.

What I particularly liked was his one-touch play.

He was the one who initiated the fluidity of the Scottish ball flow.

Impressive to do that at this level with such ease.

You can still feel his desire to move the ball quickly and try to create crosses, for example. No real intention of settling down and calming the game.

[KEY ACTIONS]

Here are three clips from Raskin that I particularly like for tactical, cognitive and game IQ reasons.

[TO IMPROVE]

Despite his excellent man-marker game, Raskin was fooled a few times.

Here, the Belgian should have moved forward to cut off the pass to Bentancur, who then had plenty of space to launch an offensive transition.

Here, the error was the result of a misunderstanding between Raskin and his defender.

It’s a Tottenham midfielder who calls out to the full-back, so it's Raskin who has to follow him and prevent him from bringing danger into the Rangers box.

With self-analysis, he can improve this aspect of his game and erase those little misplays.

It's good to put a lot of intensity and willpower into your game, but you also need to always look around you when you're playing against PL-players.

It's an area where he can improve.

[CONCLUSION]

Nicolas Raskin has been on the rise in recent games, and this solid performance only confirms it.

Raskin is grown a lot since leaving Standard.

He's yet to confirm this in other games, but I think Clement has found his bulldog. An 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙩 bulldog.

[END]

Thank you for reading.

Feel free to follow, RT and like to give visibility.

See you soon !