Brondby coach Niels Frederiksen rued a high-quality equaliser from Rangers as Ryan Kent and Ianis Hagi combined to devastating effect in the Europa League last night, speaking to TipsBladet.
Fortune favours the brave, as they say, and Steven Gerrard could be forgiven for patting himself on the back as Rangers fought back from Leon Balogun’s own goal to secure a valuable point in Denmark.
Gerrard brought Hagi, Kent and Kemar Roofe off the bench midway through the second half and, almost immediately, his inspired triple substitution turned the game on its head.
Kent, returning to action and not a moment too soon after missing the past 11 games, injected some much-needed pace and thrust into Rangers’ performance – a sprinkling of seasoning bringing the flavours to life in a previously bland dish.
It was Kent who set up the equaliser in the 77th minute, dashing on to Joe Aribo’s clever touch before setting up Hagi, who rifled a right-footed bullet into the bottom corner of the Brondby net.
Brondby coach praises ‘class’ Rangers goal
“I am disappointed. I was actually satisfied with the performance and with the effort – I think we played our best European match in this campaign,” Frederiksen said.
“We showed great courage, tried to play, worked forward and created chances. We were aggressive in our pressing game.
“We are, of course, sorry we couldn’t keep our 1-0 lead because we led after more than 75 minutes.
“We knew Rangers could suddenly put something good together – and it happened too. It was a class goal. Well played by them.”
Having gone behind in ten of their past 21 games – and having conceded from a set-piece in five of the past eight – there are obvious problems for Gerrard to solve ahead of a hectic festive schedule.
But with Kent available again, Rangers once more have a player who can turn a defeat into a draw or a draw into a win in the blink of an eye.
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