Rangers staged a well-earned comeback against Olympiacos in the UEFA Europa League last night (Thursday), after which Greek media has heaped praise on the Ibrox side.
After a sticky first period, Ayoub El Kaabi fired the home side in front on 56 minutes before Cyriel Dessers restored parity on the scoreboard eight minutes later.
Now halfway through the new-look competition's eight fixtures, Philippe Clement's men sit in a respectable 10th place, just two places and, at the moment, two points away from the automatically-qualifying top eight.
In the aftermath of the match, Gazzetta Greece praised Rangers' 'tactical discipline', describing the visitors as organised in their defensive structure, which in turn limited Olympiacos' attacking opportunities.
The publication also highlighted Rangers' scope to "disrupt Olympiacos' rhythm through effective pressing and midfield dominance"; and likewise hailed their resilience and adaptability, "particularly their swift response in equalizing after conceding".
All told, the Gazzetta Greece report was impressed with Rangers' game management, securing a point that puts them well on their way towards progressing further into the tournament with four league-phase games remaining.
Read more:
- Raskin and Barron’s incredible running numbers vs Olympiacos revealed
- Philippe Clement explains why he dropped James Tavernier
In his Instant Analysis after the full-time whistle, Joshua Barrie offered a brief assessment of the earlier stages of the game.
He said: "The return of Robin Propper may not have been a universally popular choice amongst supporters but it was not a huge surprise from Clement.
"There are concerns over how well equipped the Dutchman is to handle the tough and tumble nature of Scottish football but the return to European action offered Propper a chance to play himself back into form.
"At half-time, it was a case of so far so good and it could be viewed as a typical away day performance. Rangers were relatively untroubled in the first 45 minutes and captain for the night Jack Butland had little to do. There were moments where Clement’s side were loose in possession but they were not punished, with a Gelson Martins effort that was fired into the near post one of the few transition phases looked threatening in.
"Ten minutes after the restart, the hosts had the breakthrough as El Kaabi scored for the fourth time in as many matches in this competition. The Rangers defence was sucked towards a dinked ball over the top and John Souttar left El Kaabi free in space to meet a Chiquinho header. The finish from inside the area was clinical and accomplished but a rare moment of quality from the Greeks."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel