Sports
RUTHLESS Rangers delivered a performance that manager Philippe Clement called “close to perfection” and heightened their hopes of Europa League progression with a stunning win in Nice.
Despite a strong start from the Ligue 1 outfit, the Scottish Premiership side rushed into an unimaginable three-goal lead at half-time to set them on their way to another impressive result on their European travels.
Vaclav Cerny, so often Rangers’ saviour this season, watched his deflected strike wrong-foot goalkeeper Marcin Bulka, before Mohamed Diomande audaciously flicked in a second within three minutes
The Ivory Coast international capitalised on some horrendous defending by the much-changed hosts, and another comical error from Nice gifted Rangers a third before the break.
Hamza Igamane, who inexplicably squandered a chance earlier, pounced on a dreadful blind back-pass to spark bedlam in the away end.
Unbelievably, Rangers could have been two goals down inside seven minutes, but that soon felt a distant memory in an otherwise memorable match.
Teenager Badredine Bouanani’s bending shot just skimmed over, while referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea awarded Nice a penalty before being called over to review three separate incidents in one visit to the monitor before reversing his call.
In truth, it was a night where everything went right for Rangers.
The disastrous defending carried on into the second half as Igamane intercepted a poor pass from Issiaga Camara before nutmegging the defender and rolling in a fantastic fourth.
On an otherwise chastening night for the hosts, Bouanani curled in a classy free-kick late on as some sort of consolation.
Nice sit fifth in Ligue 1 – a place above Lyon who outclassed Rangers at Ibrox last month – but were blown away by a visiting side who have edged into the automatic progression places.
“It was close [to perfect],” Clement said. “If we would have scored more goals then it was really close to perfection.
“We still had really good chances we didn’t finish but I saw a really impressive performance.”
Igamane is the man
The big news pre-match was Igamane starting a European game for the first time.
When the 22-year-old stuttered taking his first shot, there were shadows of Cyriel Dessers frustrating play – which the substitute exhibited again late in his own cameo.
However, that moment of hesitance was the only one from Igamane, who quickly announced himself as a potential new leader of the line for Rangers.
He’s far from the finished article, but there was so much to like from his rawness to his ruthlessness.
The Moroccan was merciless in his finishing but his role in Cerny’s goal particularly was impressive and important.
He was not the only one, though, who impressed in this superb show.
Once the deserved celebrations are over, some will surely scratch their head again at the wild difference in performance and result from domestic duties.
The set-up is different, of course. In Nice, there was no need to break through a low-block or 11-man defence but, even still, Rangers dealt with the challenge with aplomb.
Nice not on the same page
The French side were much-changed but even still, they were so far off it.
In teenager Bouanani they had a real bright light, but elsewhere, they were not up to scratch of the second tier of European football.
Schoolboy defending must have left the few home fans in the stands shaking their heads, as will their position in the Europa League.
They’re 34th out of 35 teams. Yet sit fifth in Ligue 1, one of the big-boy leagues.
They’ve failed to win in their last nine games in the Europa League, conceded three goals in the first half of a major European match for the first time in 64 years and for the first time ever at home.
A sobering occasion.
What they said
Rangers manager Philippe Clement: “I want to create a mentality, a culture, in the dressing room of always going for the three points.
“Whether it’s Dumbarton or Manchester United, there shouldn’t be a difference in the way we approach the game mentally.
“We’re working hard in the dressing room to create the culture that the new players understand what Rangers is about. That is one of my big tasks.”
Match stats
- Rangers scored four or more goals in an away European game (exc qualifiers) for just the eighth time. This was the first time they’ve done so since a 4-2 win at Borussia Dortmund in February 2022.
- Hamza Igamane became the youngest Rangers player (22 years, 26 days) to score two goals in an away European game (exc qualifiers) since Davie McPherson scored four against Valletta in Malta in September 1983, aged 19.
- This was the first time Rangers had scored three goals in the first half of a European match (exc qualifiers) since November 2018 against Spartak Moscow in the Europa League.
- Nice conceded three goals in the first half of a European match for the first time in 64 years, since doing so against Real Madrid in a European Cup match in March 1960.
- Vaclav Cerny has been involved in five goals in his last three Europa League appearances (three goals, two assists). In all competitions, Cerny has seven goals and three assists in his last nine appearances. – bbcsport
A.I
Nov. 29, 2024
Tags:
