Rangers have rightfully had praise for their performance in earning a point in Athens last night.
And some of it has come from Olympiacos boss Jose Luis Mendilibar.
Gers were expected to face a tough battle against the Conference League holders but in the end were very good value for the draw.
Philippe Clement’s side could have taken a lead into half-time and actually ended up falling behind, but stuck to the task and drew level through Cyriel Dessers.
- READ MORE: What Rangers Europa League rivals say about clash that could work in Philippe Clement’s favour
Olympiacos star full of praise for Rangers
Olympiacos defender Panagiotis Retsos has now joined in with his manager in giving words of praise to Rangers.
He says it was evident work had been done from within Ibrox to study the Greek side and find out how to play against them, for which he gives credit to Philippe Clement.
Retsos is not happy with the result or the manner in which his side gave away their lead but admits Rangers did a very good job of stifling them and combating their attacking threat.
He said: “It seems like Rangers had studied us closely because they were very good at shutting down our attacking qualities so credit to their coach for that.
“And I can understand that because of the performances we put in last season when we won the Europa Conference League. If I were them, I would have wanted us to be cautious too.
“But it wasn’t the result we wanted. When we play here, we play to win and we have done that consistently recently.
“We conceded a goal from individual errors that we shouldn’t have conceded. They happen in football. We have to work on them. I’m not happy. We wanted the three points because it would have been a big advantage for us.”
What did Olympiacos boss Jose Luis Mendilibar say about Rangers?
As mentioned, opposing boss Jose Luis Mendilibar had plenty to say on Rangers after the game too.
The Spaniard admits Gers were probably the better team across the 90 minutes even though his own side did have chances to win it too.
“We think the opponent was better than us,” a gracious Mendilibar told reporters at full-time.
“We had the chances to win the match. [But] after the game ended and you see the overall picture, the opponent was better.
“The truth is, we had our doubts about the way Rangers were playing. That is where they dominated; With a more direct style of play, they were winning the duels.
“They won the second balls, and that made them stronger than us.
“The good thing is that we got a point from a game where the opponent was better. The bad thing is that we could have claimed something more. We have seven points, and it is what we deserve.”
