Jack Butland’s ‘absolutely magnificent’ performance during Rangers 2-2 UEFA Europa League draw with Benfica in Lisbon earned the England international plenty of praise from a former Premier League champion.
To casual observers who’s interest in British football ends at Hadrian’s Wall, the narrative surrounding a potential England re-call for Rangers’ summer signing – uncapped since 2018, no less – may have raised a few eyebrows.
But this sort of performance – heroic between the sticks away from home a bonafide European powerhouse – should go some way to explaining why Jack Butland has been tipped, in some quarters, for a place in Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad.
Jack Butland shines again in Europe
Butland, labelled Rangers’ ‘best signing in years’ by Ibrox icon Ally McCoist, did at the Estadio da Luz what he has done for much his time at the Glasgow giants, keeping Benfica at bay with a string of superb stops as David Neres – on no fewer than three occasions – found himself frustrated by a 30-year-old who’s revival has been nothing short of spectacular after a couple of years wasted on the bench.
“The goalkeeper was absolutely magnificent last night,” Martin Keown, a three-time winner of England’s top flight with Arsenal, tells talkSPORT (8 March, 10am). “He looks like a new animal. A second coming (of Jack Butland). He talks much better, and he’s a proper keeper now.
“(Rangers) went ahead but they were under the cosh a little bit.”
Rangers hope to secure quarter-final spot
You can say that again. Benfica mustered 25 shots to Rangers’ nine on the night.
But it is testament to Butland’s brilliance that Roger Schmidt’s side needed a penalty from Angel di Maria – John Souttar rather harshly penalised for a so-called handball – and an own goal from Connor Goldson to break the visitor’s resistance.
Strikes at the other end from Tom Lawrence and Dujon Sterling, meanwhile, ensured that Rangers have not so much a full foot but a toe or two in the quarter-finals ahead of next week’s second leg at Ibrox.
