Cyriel Dessers’ 100th Rangers appearance epitomised his time at the club. In fact, the striker might just epitomise the entire team and their season.
The Nigerian is unpredictable, but his character is unquestionable. This was again evidenced in an extraordinary seven-goal thriller at Dens Park.
Rangers fans in the away end would have been pulling their hair out as the forward passed up chance after chance, but Dessers would eventually send the visiting support into raptures with a dramatic 93rd-minute winner.
The strike marked his 45th goal in 100 games for the club. Only Kris Boyd (68), Alfredo Morelos (57) and Shota Arveladze (48) have netted more goals in their first 100 Rangers matches this century.
Dessers’ winning moment in Dundee, a deft finish over goalkeeper Trevor Carson, was one of 12 shots he had in the game.
In the five other Scottish Premiership fixtures over the weekend, seven teams had fewer than 12 shots.
Excluding the strike he had ruled out for offside, nine of Dessers’ efforts were on target, with all 12 of them coming from inside the box. Opta rated six of them as ‘big chances’.
After being denied on almost every occasion, Dessers saved his goal for stoppage time, sealing an incredible three points for Barry Ferguson’s men.
Cyriel Dessers is “proud” to be among some of Rangers’ 21st century greats when he made his 100th competitive appearance for the club.
The 30-year-old scored a dramatic late winner as the Ibrox club came from behind to beat Dundee 4-3 at Dens Park.
The strike marked his 45th goal in 100 appearances for the club, which ranks behind only Kris Boyd (68), Alfredo Morelos (57) and Shota Arveladze (48) for goals in their first 100 Rangers appearances this century.
“I had difficult times at this club, especially when I came in, but when you’re amongst among these names I think you’re doing something right,” Dessers said.
“I know the people in the building see how hard I work in the gym, on the pitch, in training, and this is the reward so when you when you tell me this, that’s a very nice thing to hear from you. These are big names in the history of this club.”
Dessers has split opinion among Rangers fans, but his goalscoring feats are undeniable during a turbulent spell for the club.
