adminRohl must bench Rangers flop who was even worse than Souttar
A gut punch. That is the only way to sum up Rangers’ crushing late disappointment on Wednesday night, as Danny Röhl’s side let slip a golden opportunity to close the gap at the top of the Premiership to just three points.
On the surface, the evening appeared to be unfolding perfectly for the visitors. Nicolas Raskin struck early to hand the Ibrox outfit the lead, and a late red card shown to Lukas Fadinger seemed to tilt the contest firmly in their favour.
Yet despite those advantages, it was far from a comfortable night for the Gers, who spent large periods under sustained pressure and were repeatedly rescued by the heroics of Jack Butland and the composure of Nasser Djiga in the opening half.
Ultimately, that pressure proved decisive. Even with Motherwell reduced to ten men, the hosts found a way back, with on-loan Celtic defender Stephen Welsh stepping up to snatch a deserved equaliser at the death.
The goal sparked misery among the travelling support and visible frustration on the Rangers bench.
In truth, Röhl has few places to hide after what unfolded at Fir Park. His brave but questionable selection decisions undeniably played a major role in derailing the night.
Where Röhl went wrong with sweeping Rangers changes
Momentum had been firmly building at Ibrox in recent weeks, especially after Sunday’s emphatic 8–0 demolition of Queen’s Park. That result saw Ryan Naderi finally open his account for the Light Blues, while Tochi Chukwuani also got off the mark and even summer arrival Oliver Antman began to show encouraging signs out wide.
That feel-good factor, however, vanished on Wednesday. Eyebrows were raised when Röhl named a starting XI that left three of his four January recruits on the bench. Those handed an opportunity largely failed to seize it, with returning centre-back John Souttar coming under scrutiny for the late equaliser after failing to engage Stephen Welsh at the crucial moment.
The Scotland international could have done far more to prevent the goal and endured a difficult night overall, particularly when compared to Djiga, who was outstanding and won every single one of his duels.
Elsewhere, frustration will linger over the decision to overlook both Antman and Andreas Skov Olsen, while Djeidi Gassama struggled badly on the right flank, managing just 21 touches in a largely anonymous display.
That lack of influence was symptomatic of a broader issue across the side, with several players now edging towards last-chance territory under Röhl.
Rangers forward running out of chances after costly display
The more the team selection is analysed, the more baffling it appears. Röhl effectively brought the brakes down on Rangers’ momentum, undoing much of the positivity generated at the weekend. Most glaring was his decision in attack.
Sunday’s rout had seen both Bojan Miovski and Naderi find the net, with the latter seemingly primed to build momentum and minutes with another start.
Instead, Röhl opted to restore Youssef Chermiti as the lone striker, despite the club-record signing managing just four goals all season.
Chermiti had opportunities to justify that faith at Fir Park but failed to deliver. He squandered two clear chances early on, including a close-range effort fired straight at Motherwell goalkeeper Calum Ward.
For a team chasing the title, such misses are unforgivable—and they came back to haunt Rangers when Welsh struck late on.
While Souttar will take some blame for the equaliser, the bigger issue lay further up the pitch. Chermiti was ineffective throughout, continuing a worrying trend that has seen him struggle badly for form.
Röhl’s decision to overlook both Miovski and Naderi—each with ten goals across all competitions—only intensified the scrutiny.
The numbers paint a damning picture. Chermiti lost possession 12 times from just 25 touches, completed only half of his passes, and offered little threat in the final third. Erratic on the ball and blunt in front of goal, the 22-year-old simply cannot be trusted to lead the line during a title run-in.
Given the effort Rangers put into securing Naderi before the deadline, persisting with Chermiti in such a pivotal fixture feels especially perplexing—even allowing for the minor knock the new arrival picked up at the weekend.
Röhl will hope to learn from this misstep ahead of Sunday’s top-of-the-table showdown.
To his credit, the former Sheffield Wednesday boss has been outstanding for much of the season. But this was a rare, costly error—and it arrived at the worst possible moment.
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