Philippe Clement says one Rangers loanee handled the occasion against Benfica on Thursday night in the Europa League very well.
Fabio Silva put in an outstanding performance in an unnatural position out on the left wing as Gers secured a creditable 2-2 draw at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon.
The 21-year-old was a real threat and was integral to Dujon Sterling’s close range finish which made it 2-1 to Rangers just before half-time.
Silva’s energy and will to track runners was also impressive on the night and the Portuguese starlet on loan from Wolves proved he can be versatile if required.
Rangers were missing four wingers from the matchday squad but Silva quelled doubts over his suitability to play out wide and perform against high level opposition.
Clement reserved special praise for Silva after the game at his press conference and told the media that the 21-year-old is now able to control his emotions on the pitch.
Silva represented Benfica as a youth player for two years before transferring to rivals Porto. And with that, he was always going to be in for a hard time from the home crowd.
But Philippe Clement thinks Silva handled that brilliantly and it’s clear to see that he wasn’t affected by discontent from the Estadio da Luz stands.
Philippe Clement on Fabio Silva
As quoted in The Irish News, Clement said: “Fabio is growing. He is still a young player at 21. We had a lot of talks before he came to Rangers about his role and the roles he could play.
“We talked about him as a striker and also playing on the left side, or even around the striker. He can do all these roles and he showed his quality in this game.
“You see he has integrated really quickly into the squad and feels really good within the club. He plays with a smile and gives a lot of energy to the team.
“He has his qualities and is taking more and more control of his emotions. We talked a lot about that, that it’s the next step for him to take.
“I am really happy about how he handled the game in Lisbon because it was a hostile situation with a lot of attention towards him. But he played for the team, to show everybody he’s a good player.
“He played to be good player for Rangers and that’s important to me.”
