McCulloch says Coulibaly ‘does so much for the team’

Coulibaly
Coulibaly

Scotland defender Lee McCulloch says Rangers midfielder Lassana Coulibaly “does so much for the team” and was impressed with his performance in Sunday’s victory over Hamilton Academical. The Malian international joined Steven Gerrard’s side on loan from SCO Angers in July and has gone on to make 12 appearances in all competitions, scoring and creating four goals.

Coulibaly has been a regular under Gerrard at the heart of the midfield, breaking up the opponent’s play and retaining possession so the more creative players can flourish. Players of the 22-year-old won’t often make the headlines due to their simple and effective style, but McCulloch singled out Coulibaly in the aftermath of the Hamilton win as he believes the midfielder deserves credit.

Writing in a column for the Evening Times, the former Rangers centre-back said: “In midfield, you have Lassana Coulibaly, who puts himself about and does so much for the team. He is not a flamboyant footballer, he won’t split defences, but you want a player like that in your team every week, and especially on big European nights.”

McCulloch, who made 289 appearances for Rangers, rates Coulibaly highly and believes he’s a major asset moving forward. Gerrard clearly agrees as he’s played him in every Premiership outing he’s been available for this season. Rangers are currently fifth in the division with 17 points from nine games, three points adrift of leaders Hearts. They’ve won four of their last five.

Stats from Transfermarkt.

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