A Lyon star has made a bold claim about the Rangers crowd upon his return to Ibrox for a Europa League clash.
The champions of Scotland host the French giants on Thursday night in one of the standout fixtures from matchday one and Ekambi is likely to start.
The forward has been deployed in a wide role in each of Lyon’s opening five 2021/22 Ligue 1 fixtures and is seen as a key man by Peter Bosz.
If he does get the nod, it won’t be his first experience of Ibrox under the lights.
That’s because he played the full 90 minutes in Govan for Villarreal in a 0-0 Group G clash during the 2018/19 season.
He’s sampled the atmosphere the Gers supporters can generate but has boldly claimed that rather than intimidating the visitors, if anything, it will make them more determined to succeed.
“I’ve played here with Villarreal before, we’re going to adapt, we also have a big crowd,” he said [Daily Record].
“We know it’s a bit fiery here but it won’t be anything for us to fear, it will motivate us to play a great game.”
The 36-cap Cameroon international may have brushed off this question on the atmosphere but Steven Gerrard will know that if his Rangers side can start strongly and get the Ibrox faithful behind them, they’ll be hard to stop.
Despite the absence of key striker Moussa Dembele, the visitors have a squad packed full of quality, but the likes of Porto, Benfica and Feyenoord have found it tough going in Glasgow in recent seasons and it would be unwise for Ekambi and co. to underestimate their hosts.
Here’s how much UEFA prize money Rangers could scoop with a win over the Ligue 1 side.
