Philippe Clement was a mixture of relieved and chuffed to see Rangers hit FCSB for four last night.
The Rangers manager watched his side click at Ibrox as they romped to a 4-0 victory over their Europa League opponents.
FCSB might have given them an early scare when Jack Butland was robbed and the ball found Gers’ net, but it was ruled out for a foul on the goalkeeper.
That then allowed the Light Blues to take control and Tom Lawrence sent them on their way to three points with a goal within 10 minutes.
It would be a comfortable victory when Vaclav Cerny hit a brace before Hamza Igamane ensured his name was written on the score sheet and allowed fans to leave Ibrox satisfied.
The convincing win also papered over one bizarre moment during the 90 or so minutes when Cyriel Dessers ran off the pitch clutching his eye.
The Nigerian would eventually reveal an eye-poke had left him unable to see straight and that his frustration at having to be substituted got the better of him.
But Clement, while accepting it was a ‘strange’ moment on the pitch, absolved the striker after he showed an emotional side to him because he did not want to go off.
Why Cyriel Dessers went off for Rangers vs FCSB
“Cyriel got a knock or a finger in his eye or something in his eye, so he lost sight,” Clement said. “He could not see good anymore. He was quite emotional about it because he wanted to stay on the pitch.
“But he didn’t see anything, so he ran off the pitch. That was a really strange moment for me, but he apologised after the game. It’s better than to sit down and give time for your team mate to come in.
“But it was in the emotion of wanting to win, wanting to react, wanting to play well, what he was doing also in the game. I have no problems with that. But it’s good lesson also for this young squad in that way, to take every moment in a really professional way.”
He added: “I don’t remember [it happening before] to be honest. But Cyriel is somebody who has such a big passion for this club.
Philippe Clement’s Rangers sit in the playoff spots in Europa League
“He wants to give everything, every day in training, every game in that way. He felt he was really good in the game and he was. And it’s hard to come off.
“And as a player, you can have an emotional moment. They’re human beings. He will learn out of that. He learned already out of that because he came straight after the game towards me to talk about that. I think there’s nobody in this room who never had an emotional moment in his life. So Cyriel had it.
“Luckily for him, all the cameras are on top of him at that moment. So nothing done there. I hope we can get him fit for Sunday [Rangers play St Mirren in the William Hill Premiership at home on Sunday].”
