Rangers boss Michael Beale gets the ‘big game’ monkey off his back with Europa League victory over Real Betis at Ibrox.
The Gers put in an inspired second half display against the La Liga outfit to secure a 1-0 victory at Ibrox with Abdallah Sima being awarded the only goal of the game.
It came after some relentless pressure in the Real Betis box from a corner, with the impressive Kemar Roofe forcing a save from Claudio Bravo before the ball was poked home.
There is some conjecture as to who should be awarded the goal, with both Abdallah Sima and Man of the Match candidate Ben Davies getting to the ball, but it’s been awarded to the Senegalese forward.
Rangers boss Michael Beale – who has been under relentless pressure from a despondent Ibrox support over the last three weeks – will not care who gets the goal, only that the team scored it.
Rangers hand Beale boost in Europa League win over Betis
The result puts an end to a startling eight-game run of failures in the so-called “big games” for Michael Beale and – whisper it quietly – threatens to kickstart a stuttering season.
Rangers had to be at their best to get all three points against an experienced and talented Real Betis side on Europa League duties.
The Gers have proven themselves repeatedly in this competition over the last five or so years and once again go into a Europa League campaign with confidence and belief.
There were inspired performances by the resurgent Jack Butland – who is a commanding and influential presence between the sticks – as well as from potential matchwinner Ben Davies.
Rangers also saw genuine flashes of quality from Tom Lawrence, who hit the post, as well as substitute Sam Lammers and the likes of Borna Barisic, John Lundstram and Rabbi Matondo.
Thoroughly deserving of the Europa League victory on the night, the win over Real Betis sets Rangers up going into the rest of the group stages, banking the club a cool €630k (£550k) in the process.
More than that, for Michael Beale it proves that he can get it right in the big matches when the pressure is on and Rangers fans will hope to build on the result for the rest of the campaign.
