Ally McCoist, barely able to contain his excitement from the Ibrox gantry, felt that one Rangers hero may have reached triple figures in terms of the amount of headers he won against Fenerbahce on Thursday night.
It wasn’t quite that many, of course.
But, across the two legs, nobody came close to matching the number of clearances he made in what was a truly imperious backs-against-the-wall display from a handful of Barry Ferguson’s lieutenants.
Ferguson felt that John Souttar would make a ‘difference’ to the Rangers backline once he returned from injury. He’s done that, and more.
OK, the more churlish critics will point out that, technically speaking, Rangers have now lost four successive games at Ibrox. They have also gone 2-0 down in four of their last five matches in all competitions.
Yet, it was thanks in part to a colossal Souttar display that Sebastian Szymanski’s Ibrox brace counted for nothing in the grand scheme of things.
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Ally McCoist singles out Rangers stopper John Souttar at Ibrox
Over the two legs, Souttar made a staggering 31 clearances. On nights like this – and up against two giant centre-forwards in Edin Dzeko and the spring-heeled Youssef En-Nesyri – who cares about how well you can play out from the back?
Rangers needed an old-school, throw-your-body-on-the-line defensive masterclass.
And Souttar, in a performance which may have had Fenerbahce boss Jose Mourinho reminiscing about his Catenaccio days at Inter Milan, provided exactly that.
“I thought he was unbelievable,” a beaming Ally McCoist said on commentary duty. “He must have won about 100 headers! What a performance.”
Scott Arfield singled out the ‘phenomenal’ Connor Barron after Rangers’ 3-1 first-leg win in Istanbul a week prior. The former Aberdeen ace was arguably even better at Ibrox.
Arfield, who played his part in a number of big European wins in his own playing days, was keen to highlight the role of Souttar’s two central defensive partners on a tense evening of action.
James Tavernier and Jack Butland colossal in Fenerbahce triumph
“James Tavernier was amazing in there,” the Falkirk veteran said. “Leon Balogun, he’s such a voice on the pitch but he’s so athletic as well. When you’ve got that athleticism going back the way.
“It makes it so much easier to press high, because you know he won’t get caught out for pace.”
Even at the age of 36, the veteran Nigerian can still show an opposition forward a clean pair of heels even if he was a relative spring chicken compared to a soon-to-be 39-year-old Edin Dzeko.
“They’ll have aged tonight, that’s for sure,” quips Stephen Thompson, the former Rangers striker speaking on BBC Sport Scotland. “As will most of the supporters inside this stadium!
“I’ve got to give them massive credit because, at 2-0 down heading into extra time, I feared for Rangers. But they managed to galvanise themselves and regain composure. They showed a lot of bravery, shown mostly by their captain James Tavernier.
“Rangers’ penalties were excellent and Jack Butland was phenomenal.”
Butland denied Dusan Tadic and Fred from 12 yards. Thus, setting up a quarter-final meeting with Athletic Bilbao.
