RANGERS improved their chances of remaining in Europe beyond Christmas with this impressive 1-1 draw away to Porto in the third match of the Europa League group stage. But what else did we learn from the match?
Galatasaray, Lokomotiv Moscow, Schalke, AS Roma, Young Boys...
…but not Rangers. Porto have accumulated an impressive number of scalps at home over the past 13 months in the Champions League last season and the Europa League in this campaign. Credit, then, to Steven Gerrard’s side as they joined Krasnodar and Liverpool in avoiding defeat at what must be considered one of European football’s more imposing venues.
The Ibrox side would have been kicking themselves for throwing away a battling point late on in their previous Europa League match against Young Boys but they were far more professional and clinical here as they recovered from falling a goal down to nick a precious point.
Gerrard would have taken particular comfort with how his side controlled long spells of the contest in the second half, and with how they dealt with the inevitable late Porto onslaught.
Where’s Pepe?
It had been billed as the crucial clash between two temperamental South American-born stars and it was Alfredo Morelos who came out on top in his battle with Pepe.
The former Real Madrid defender returned to Porto in January after 12 years away and was asked to shackle the Colombian here but couldn’t keep close enough tabs on him as Morelos scored once and came close to adding a second.
Pepe, now 36, was nowhere to be seen as the Rangers striker fastened on to Borna Barisic’s cross late in the first half before finishing well, and it was a similar story after the break when the Croat again picked out Morelos whose header was saved.
A booking late on for a sloppy trip on Morelos summed up an awkward evening for Pepe who won’t be relishing the rematch in Glasgow.
Good teams punish bad mistakes
Ryan Jack’s loose ball outside his own penalty box in the first half would probably not have had consequences in just about any domestic match in Scotland. Against a team of Porto’s calibre, however, it proved costly as Luis Diaz created space for himself with a neat shimmy before unleashing a shot into the top corner that Allan McGregor could only wave at as it sailed over his head.
It is why managers always emphasise the need for players to be switched on and fully concentrating in difficult matches like these.
Winging it
Acknowledging that his team would likely be under the cosh for large swathes of the contest, Gerrard handed rare starts to Brandon Barker and Ryan Kent and asked the wide men to try to stretch Porto on the counter-attack.
An early breakaway by Kent – denied only by a terrific covering tackle by Jesus Corona – offered promise that the gamble might just pay off.
Both players put in a shift as Rangers began to see more of the ball the longer the second half wore on, with less emphasis on running at the Porto defence and more on trying to thread passes through to Morelos.
More like it from the captain
All eyes were on James Tavernier to see if his recent defensive struggles could be considered uncharacteristic blips or evidence of a sustained decline.
An early mistake wouldn’t have helped his nerves, while a shot at the other end sailed high over the crossbar. But as the game wore on, the Rangers captain looked more like his old self. Granted, there was little of the cavalier attacking that is often the hallmark of his domestic play but he will be relieved this was a relatively solid display with no significant slip-ups.
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