What a result. What a second half. And what a lesson for this fledging, talented Rangers team.
Going to the El Madrigal (or the Estadio de la Cerámica as it’s now called) is a challenge that even the likes of Sevilla, Barcelona and Real Madrid fear.
Don’t write this off as complacency. This was a hard-worked, tireless display from Rangers. What’s even more impressive is we controlled much of the second half.
If there’s one thing we can take from this lop-sided performance, it’s that in the first, and for the whole 90, self-belief is what Rangers need.
Rangers rose above two finishes of real quality
Ok. So the two finishes from Bacca and Moreno were of the highest quality. But they came from our mistakes.
At this level, teams are ruthless. These are two strikers who’d now command upwards of £20m plus. Villarreal just paid £18m for Moreno in the Summer.
But despite the split-second mistakes from Worrall and Barisic, the Gers rose above.
This was a team performance the likes of Walter Smith would’ve been able to instill.
Instead it was a new hero. Gerrard gets it. This was Rangers of old. This was us living up to a reputation and identity that for years has deserted us.
Gerrard calm, composed and never in doubt
After going down 1-0 you can’t blame this inexperienced team for looking slack. It rocked them a bit. They struggled to get into the flow of their game plan, but we managed to struggle to the second half. Even if we did look good in flashes.
In the second, Gerrard passed all the composure he’d shown on the sidelines down to his players.
Rangers were calmer, they were controlled. They almost even nicked it at the end.
If this team is to go anywhere – and we’re all starting to believe it will – Rangers need to listen to the Gaffer.
They need to believe in themselves.
