Rangers dropped two vital points in their Europa League clash against Aris Limassol on Thursday evening and it leaves them with an uphill task to secure qualification to the knockout rounds.
The Gers will now need to get a result against Real Betis in Spain and hope the Cypriot side can take something off of Sparta Prague, otherwise the club will be playing in the Europa Conference League after Christmas.
Philippe Clement enjoyed a solid start to life at the Light Blues prior to the international break, yet back-to-back draws haven’t been the best results.
There were far too many passengers on Thursday evening and Todd Cantwell was one of the main protagonists.
Todd Cantwell’s game in numbers vs Aris Limassol
The Englishman was yet again deployed wide right, and it's fair to say he hasn’t sparkled in that position so far this season.
His strengths are far more suited to a central role, yet that was given to Sam Lammers and this disrupted the Gers during the opening 30 minutes as Cantwell failed to follow Clement’s instructions, constantly drifting inside rather than offering some width.
He lost possession leading up to the Aris goal while completing only 15 passes and taking 31 touches during his time on the pitch.
Indeed, he lost possession nine times and not long after the away side scored, he was substituted off after just 36 minutes. This led to the Scottish Sun giving him a match rating of just 3/10, summing up his performance.
Despite his early withdrawal, it was Lammers who was arguably the worst player in the starting XI and his opportunities should be limited from now on.
Sam Lammers statistics vs Aris Limassol
The Dutchman was on the field for slightly longer than Cantwell, playing for 58 minutes, yet he completed fewer passes (nine) and took just two more touches (33), proving how ineffective he was in the number ten role.
The 26-year-old also contested 11 ground duels, yet won only two while losing possession 13 times in just under an hour.
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The forward was even dribbled past on four occasions, indicating how lackadaisical he was in the midfield, and perhaps he should have been the player substituted rather than Cantwell.
His performance led the Sun to give him a rating of just 4/10 for his display, while the playmaker's Sofascore match rating of 6.1 was the lowest of any starting player for either side, including Cantwell.
This should give Clement clarity on just what he needs to do going forward and that is deploying Cantwell in a central role, while utilising Ross McCausland on the right wing, as he will give natural width.
If he continues to persist with the formation that was used last night, then it won't take long for the Ibrox faithful to start turning on the Belgian.
Following a good start, the honeymoon period is now over and with a League Cup final to come in a few weeks, along with crucial Premiership ties, the 49-year-old will need to adapt accordingly.