There was a sense of Groundhog day as the final whistle blew at Ibrox yesterday.

While the most important thing was gaining three points and that was achieved, the performance was not one that will give disgruntled, concerned support much pause for cheer.

And the stats don't really change the narrative, confirming feelings following the game.

It's important not to let disappointment at the overall performance cloud the facts though, Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side did deserve their win. Just.

Rangers' xG of 1.60 to United's 0.67 shows they would take home the three points 63 percent of the time, with a point gained on 23 percent of occasions.

United's only big chance came from Glenn Middleton when he was put through on goal with a 0.26 xG chance put his post-shot number of 0.09 tells you the finish wasn't true as he fired straight at Allan McGregor.

Rangers' best chance of the game fell to Scott Arfield in the opening exchanges but he blazed Ryan Kent's cut-back over the bar, seeming to fall over the ball in a rare case of him getting his late run timing slightly wrong.

Thankfully for the Ibrox men, Antonio Colak doesn't need high-volume chances to convert and his two goals were a perfect example. His first, a raking low drive had an xG of just 0.11 but the quality of his connection and the accuracy of his placing meant post shot, the xG rose to 0.83.

His second, a deft flick from a delicious Barisic shot was close to equally ruthless. Colak would be expected to hit the net just 13 times out of 100 but again, after his connection, the accuracy of his strike was enough to raise that figure to 67.

Rangers were far better in the first half, creating more chances and using the ball more quickly. That's evidenced when we look at the passing network maps. As a rule, the warmer the colour the more dangerous the player and you can see Rangers were pretty solid on that front for 45 minutes.

The second half is a different story though with Rangers clearly easing off when Colak put them 2-0 up on 48 minutes. The big Croat is a one of those strikers who will score if you feed him, but goals apart, there wasn't much for him to even snack on. He was left very isolated with only one half chance coming from an overhit Tillman through-ball late on.

As the second half progressed, United came back into the game and got a serious chink of light when a brilliant passing move was sparked by snappy play from sub Sadat Anaku. Liam Smith was found in space on the right flank and his low shot found the net, spinning off McGregor's right boot. It was an odd-looking goal with a whiff of suspicion the keeper could have done better and that was confirmed by the numbers. The strike carried an xG of just 0.14 and post shot didn't see a massive improvement at just 0.17. Rangers' goalkeeping woes continue.

The only other element of note was the way United interim head coach Liam Smith clearly set up to flood the right flank to mitigate the threat of Tavernier while leaving Middleton and Smith very wide and advanced on the left. This attempt to target that flank worked well in the second half, giving joy on more than one occasion before the goal.

This tactic didn't chance in throughout the game but in the second half there were more players joining them forward. United might look at a 37 percent chance of taking at least a point from the game and consider themselves highly satisfied given they currently sit bottom of the league and have already taken a 9-0 tanking from Celtic.

We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.

Please report any comments that break our rules.

This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's Editors' Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then please contact the editor here. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can contact IPSO here

© 2001-2022. This site is part of Newsquest's audited local newspaper network. A Gannett Company. Newsquest Media Group Ltd, Loudwater Mill, Station Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. HP10 9TY. Registered in England & Wales | 01676637 |

Data returned from the Piano 'meterActive/meterExpired' callback event.

As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles.

Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services.

These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience – the local community.

It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times.