CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DREAM ALIVE
It looked all but over last week but Rangers’ Champions League group stage dreams are now well and truly alive. What a stunning turnaround it was from Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side, and despite not playing at their best, the team simply got the job done. Rangers attacked well against their Belgian opponents, but in all honesty, they struggled to click in the final third for large parts of the game. With this in mind, the Gers players deserve credit for fighting on and managing to turn the tie on its head. The energy shown from the attacking players was impressive throughout.
LUNDSTRAM A WARRIOR
John Lundstram was key performer for Rangers last term and he will be again this year going by the start of this season. The midfield general was outstanding in the middle of the park for van Bronckhorst’s team and he was everywhere both in attack and in defence. His ability to cut out dangerous passes and steal the ball off opponents is key for Rangers and they are a much better team with Lundstram in the engine room. He will be required to have another top night in the play-off to ensure Rangers’ spot in the group stages.
VAR ON RANGERS’ SIDE
VAR was the enemy last week as USG were awarded a very dubious penalty call in Belgium. It was an awful call but Rangers did not let it get to them. They were off the pace in first leg and were deservedly beaten, but VAR certainly did not help their cause. The video technology was involved again at Ibrox in the return fixture, but this time it appeared to work in Rangers’ favour. James Sands looked set to be sent off for a last-ditch challenge with the score tied at 2-2, but after a discussion with his assistant and VAR team, referee Tasos Sidiropoulos overturned the call and got the decision spot on. Here’s hoping VAR will work this well when it is introduced into the Scottish game!
