Gassama wows, Martin not afraid – 5 things we learned from Rangers v Viktoria Plzen
Rangers put one foot into the Champions League play-off round with a comfortable 3-0 win over Viktoria Plzen at Ibrox on Tuesday (5 August).
Russell Martin’s side emerged victorious from the first-leg of their third qualifying round tie against their Czech opponents after Djeidi Gassama netted a brace either side of Cyriel Dessers’ strike from the spot.
Gassama scored their only goal against Panathanikos in the last round, and he started well at Ibrox this time around with a nicely slotted finish after 15 minutes after some neat play with Dessers.
The Nigeria international stepped up to fire home a penalty on the stroke of half-time to double the hosts’ lead, while Gassama added a third shortly after the interval to seal the win.
Rangers will now take on Dundee at Ibrox on Saturday (9 August) before travelling across Europe for the second-leg in Plzen, and here are five things that we learned from this game to take into the Gers’ coming fixtures.
Rangers have pulled off a blinder with Gassama
Rangers signed Gassama from Sheffield Wednesday last month for just £2.2million [Sky Sports], and that figure is already proving to be a snip following his outstanding start to life north of the border.
The 21-year-old scored on his debut for the club against Panathanikos, then followed that up with another in the second-leg, before two more against Plzen to fire the Gers well ahead of their Czech opponents at half-time in the tie.
He is already one of Martin’s go-to men, and is set to be absolutely pivotal to their chances of success on both domestic and European fronts this season.
Igamane is not untouchable in the transfer market
Hamza Igamane joined the Gers from AS FAR for just £1.7million [Daily Record] last summer, and his consistently impressive performances saw him notch 16 goals in 46 appearances in all competitions after recovering from injury.
Football Insider revealed on 2 August that Rangers could demand close to £20million for Igamane amid interest from Everton and numerous European sides, and they should be open to selling him if Dessers continues playing like he did against Plzen.
The 30-year-old held the ball up well and dispatched his spot-kick at a huge point in the tie, so while Martin would obviously want to buy another striker if Igamane left, the Gers need not worry if Dessers is called upon consistently.
Martin vindicated for taking risks
Lots of the talk heading into Tuesday’s game was about what kind of team Martin would pick to start after Rangers’ poor start to the new league season against Motherwell.
He pulled no punches with his selection, as the likes of James Tavernier, Nico Raskin and Kieran Dowell were all dropped for Jefte, Lyall Cameron and new man Oliver Antman, and his selection worked a dream as his side cruised to a comfortable win, with both Cameron and Antman particularly impressing.
Rangers’ counter-attacking will win them big games
Rangers’ last few games have not seen them utilise counter-attacking well enough as a form of creating chances, but their clash against Plzen was different.
Bournemouth loanee Max Aarons was constantly starting attacks with long-balls over the top to Antman, and their strategy paid dividends twice, as the penalty was won after a quick counter and the third goal came via the right-sided pair’s link-up.
Fast-paced breaks that catch the opposition off-guard will certainly be a great source of goals for the Gers if the likes of Gassama and Antman can nail down their starting spots on either wing.
Martin will however have to formulate a way to break down deep-lying low blocks in domestic fixtures.
Max Aarons means James Tavernier’s days are numbered
Tavernier scored Rangers’ only goal of the game against Motherwell at the weekend, and so likely felt somewhat hard done by to see his right-back spot taken by Aarons on Tuesday, with Jefte playing on the left.
Aarons impressed all night down the right-flank, with energy, desire and quality that the 33-year-old club-captain can likely not match over a full season as he reaches the latter stages of his career.
Tavernier is and will always be a legend at Ibrox, but the early signs of Aarons’ time at the club could signal the beginning of the end for him at the club.