Rangers knew that the trip to face Olympiacos was going to be a tough assignment against a team that were Europa Conference League winners last season.
On that run, they disposed of Unai Emery’s Aston Villa in the semi-finals, proving the size of task faced by Philippe Clement and his squad.
The manager would have been able to review the footage from the friendly at Ibrox between the two sides, and Gelson Martins is the type of player who Rangers needed to pay close attention to.
Dujon Sterling shows why he deserved Rangers start
Clement raised a few eyebrows by dropping James Tavernier for Dujon Sterling, however, it soon became evident why the Chelsea academy product got the nod.
As Sofascore’s highest rated Rangers player other than Vaclav Cerny, his defensive qualities came to the fore against a very dangerous opponent for the 50 minutes that he was on the pitch.
The 25-year old was replaced by Neraysho Kasanwirjo with two blocked shots, two clearances, one interception, 100% aerial duels and three out of five ground duels to his name.
Sterling’s recovery pace and ability to close gaps quicker saw Rangers looks more secure when turning the ball over.
There were no occasions when Olympiacos got in behind Sterling, not only this, but it was refreshing to see a right-back win more ground duels and aerial duels than he lost, as well as blocking crosses.
At the Europa League level, the wingers that Rangers come up against will be quicker and more technical than anything other than Celtic can offer in the SPFL which makes Sterling’s inclusion a sensible one.
Why did Clement drop Tavernier to pick Sterling?
Speaking ahead of the Europa League league phase fixture, Clement explained why Tavernier had dropped to the bench:
“Dujon came in well, he’s in a good period these last two weeks after we solved his injury,” he said.
“It’s rotation in the squad that way. Like we said before the season Tav won’t play all the games, Dujon is pushing so it’s an interesting game to see against a winger with a lot of speed, individual actions. Dujon needs to use his qualities there.”
Going according to plan, few can argue that Clement made the right decision, which makes Tavernier’s job of getting back in the team that little bit harder.
