The big winners and losers as Scotland hammer Albania

Scotland travelled to Albania on Saturday with all still to play for in Uefa Nations League group C1.

After a bright start, Scotland opened the scoring after 14 minutes with a fine Ryan Fraser strike, dropping a shoulder and cutting in from the left before firing a deadly accurate shot into the far corner.

Things got even better for Scotland after 22 minutes when Albania captain Mergim Mavraj got himself sent off for a headbutt, having previously been booked for an over-the-ball challenge.

And, to round off a perfect first half, Scotland were awarded a penalty for handball, right on the stroke of half-time, with Steven Fletcher dispatching the spot-kick to give the Scots a commanding lead at the break.

And if you thought that Scotland were done there, you were wrong. On 55 minutes, the visitors turned a comfortable win into a rout when Celtic pair Ryan Christie and James Forrest linked up, with the latter slotting it home to make it 3-0. Christie then continued a fine performance with a peach of a ball to Ryan Fraser, who then squared it to Forrest who once again found the back of the net, extending the scoreline to 4-0.

Here are the winners and losers on a memorable night for Scotland.

Winner: Ryan Fraser 

With four goals and six assists already for Bournemouth this season, Ryan Fraser has been absolutely excellent of late. However, for some reason, he hasn’t quite managed to bring the party to the international stage… until tonight.

(Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Fraser opened the scoring after 14 minutes, brilliantly dropping a shoulder and cutting in from the left before firing a laser-guided shot into the far corner. That goal was the 12th that Fraser has been directly involved with in his last 16 appearances for club and country.

The 24-year-old’s pace had the Albanian defence terrified and his link-up play with Ryan Christie could be a very useful avenue for Alex McLeish to explore to make Scotland more dynamic going forward – that particular avenue paid dividends in the second half when Christie played a peach of a ball to Fraser, who then played it on to James Forrest to make it 4-0.

Loser: Mërgim Mavraj

What an absolute idiot. As Albania captain, Mërgim Mavraj is supposed to be the one setting the example, flying the banner to which the entire team can rally behind.

Instead, the 32-year-old defender got himself booked for an over-the-ball challenge in the 22nd minute before stupidly headbutting Ryan Christie in a moment of pure madness.

Of course, referee Vladislav Bezborodov spotted the offence and duly showed Mavraj a red card, effectively consigning his teammates to an absolute thrashing from Scotland. The Aris defender totally let himself and Albania down here.

Winner: Ryan Christie

For a long time now, Scotland have desperately craved a real playmaker. Someone to fill the number 10 role, both dragging defenders with him and feeding the ball into the space that opens up.

(Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Tonight, Ryan Christie was that. After spending the last two years on loan at Aberdeen, there was some doubt whether Christie would remain at Celtic and get into the reckoning for Scotland at all. However, the 23-year-old is slowly but surely making his way at Parkhead and tonight, Christie turned in a fantastic performance with two assists merely being the tip of the iceberg.

His second assist, for Scotland’s third goal, was particularly eye-catching as Christie slipped a lovely ball through to find the run of James Forrest behind the Albania defence, Christie’s Celtic teammate had no problem dispatching the opportunity.

Christie also played a worldie of a long ball to Ryan Fraser for Scotland’s fourth goal, with the Bournemouth man then squaring it to Forrest for his second of the night. If Christie can make this kind of performance a regular occurrence, Scotland really do stand a chance of being more dynamic in the future and stepping out of the international gloom.

Loser: Israel

With Israel sitting top of Nations League group C1 on six points and three clear of Scotland and Albania, they really would have been hoping for a draw before tonight’s game.

That result would have, at the very least, kept them safe from relegation and put them well in the driving set for promotion. However, Scotland’s emphatic win over Albania now sets up a straight shootout between on Tuesday.

And with Hampden Park as the venue, who could bet against the Scots turning in another win? The Nations League is certainly hotting up.

Winner: Alex McLeish

With seven defeats from their last nine games before tonight – including some abject home defeats to Belgium and Portugal – Alex McLeish was really starting to feel some pressure heading into Saturday’s game against Albania.

(Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

However, the result at the Loro Borici stadium will feel like a weight off the shoulders of the Scotland boss, who will now be able to plan for Tuesday’s game against Israel with promotion at the forefront of his mind.

This is by no means the end of the road back into the hearts of the fans for McLeish, but it is certainly a huge step in the right direction – it’s been a while since Scotland have both controlled and dispatched an opponent in this style.

Loser: Taulant Xhaka

No, not Granit. But it is his older brother.

Taulant Xhaka had a nightmare in midfield for Albania tonight, getting totally overrun by the likes of Ryan Christie and Stuart Armstrong, the former of which he was totally unable to get to grips with.

Xhaka was disposed cheaply on the edge of his own box for Scotland’s first goal. That started the rot, meaning it never really got any better from then on. A night to forget for Xhaka senior.

Winner: James Forrest

James Forrest is having a fine season for Celtic so far, with nine goals in all competitions already.

The 27-year-old wing wizard transferred that to the international stage in some style tonight, bagging two quickfire goals to put the golden seal on a fantastic Scotland win.

Forrest roamed from right to left at will tonight, especially when Albania were reduced to 10 men, and the hosts really struggled to keep a tab on his position.

This lead to mayhem every time Scotland attacked, with Fraser and Christie supplementing him perfectly.

 

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