Fabio Silva has taken a fair bit of stick recently, but today was a better day at the office for the Rangers striker on loan from Wolves.
Silva has recently been a target for some Rangers supporters, following a few poor performances.
Silva has struggled to impact games, and has also frustrated supporters with his theatrics. Last month, he was blasted by former Rangers striker Kris Boyd during the club’s 3-3 draw with Celtic. He said: “Fabio Silva has been really, really poor and some of his antics have been a disgrace as well, rolling about.”
In Rangers’ recent Scottish Cup semi-final against Hearts, he missed a chance that was described as ‘comical’.
So it has not really been the best spell for Silva.
But today, he did have reason to cheer has he found the back of the net – with a former Rangers player giving him his due credit…
Former Rangers midfielder Stuart McCall praises ‘excellent’ Fabio Silva during win over Kilmarnock
Rangers are currently battling Celtic for the Premiership title, and today they beat Kilmarnock 4-1 to reduce the gap to just three points.
Silva was handed a start by manager Philippe Clement, and it was his 21st appearance for the club in total.
Although Rangers did concede first, it was rather a breeze for them in the end with Kilmarnock player Joe White getting sent off in the 21st minute.
Fabio Silva grabbed Rangers’ equaliser deep into first-half added time, and his finish left former Rangers midfielder Stuart McCall impressed. Commentating for BBC Sport, he said: “It’s a clever ball from Lundstram. It’s not lumping it in.
“The one thing Silva has done well today, because he’s not been on the ball much, is his movement. It has been excellent. Lovely ball, really nice finish.”
Silva’s goal celebration hasn’t gone down particularly well on social media though. After scoring, he turned around and lifted his shirt to display his name, and then made a ‘chatting’ gesture with his hand, indicating he has heard the recent criticism of him.
Many do not feel as though his general performance levels did not warrant such a celebration.
Let your football do the talking
By many accounts, Silva’s stint at Rangers hasn’t gone very well. In April, his average rating across four games from Fotmob was just 6.4.
The youngster has missed the mark with his celebration. It was a good finish from him, but he ought to just let his football do the talking.
Wolves officials will now hope he can build on this goal and finish the season with a flourish. The club are looking at making a big loss on him this summer, but a few more goals might just mean his market value bumps up a little bit more.
It has been claimed that Rangers won’t look to turn his move permanent. So Wolves will potentially be looking to offload him to another club.