When French giants Marseille turned up at Ibrox on Sunday boasting names like Dimitri Payet, Kevin Strootman and Florian Thauvin within their ranks, some may have expected a long afternoon.
Despite Andre Villas-Boas naming a strong starting XI, though, it was the Gers who proved too hot to handle.
Connor Goldson tapped in just after the hour mark and Jermain Defoe completed the scoring 15 minutes from time.
Yet, it was Daniel Candeias who had the most telling say on the fixture.
Given the nod to start on the right flank, he made the most of the 45 minutes he had to impress the manager.
He netted twice during that time, taking his pre-season Ibrox tally to three, in just 90 minutes of football. That’s just two fewer goals than he managed in 33 SPL outings last term.
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His second goal, in particular, was outstanding. Seeing Candeias make a dart in behind Marseille’s defensive line, Ryan Jack picked out the Portuguese with a raking long-range pass, which the Portuguese took down with aplomb before tucking a first-time finish past the onrushing Steve Mandanda.
It was a moment of quality and composure in the final third, which capped a fine first half both individually and collectively.
Plenty of Bears were mightily impressed and when the winger took to social media after the game, he was bombarded with praise.
Here’s a selection of reactions:
https://twitter.com/ritchie99/status/1150487540815802368
https://twitter.com/gail_macleod/status/1150475563922014214
