Alex Rae hailed Rangers after their heroic display in the Europa League.
Alex Rae has hailed Rangers as “magnificent” after their draw against FC Ufa saw them progress to the Europa League group stages.
The Light Blues earned a 1-1 draw on Thursday away in Russia, meaning they progressed from their qualifier 2-1 on aggregate.
Steven Gerrard’s side had to do things the hard way, as both Alfredo Morelos and Jon Flanagan were sent off during the contest to leave the Scottish giants hanging on in the final moments with just nine men.
Ovie Ejaria had put the visitors in front with a brilliant curling effort, before Dmitri Sysuyev equalised on 32 minutes with a composed finish.
The Gers were under pressure when striker Morelos was shown a second yellow card for dissent in the first-half, while Flanagan also received his second booking in the 66th minute.
Ex-Rangers player Rae hailed his former side for the spirit they showed to edge past FC Ufa, but warned Morelos that he needs to control his emotions after he showed a lack of discipline not for the first time during his spell at Ibrox.
“Rangers progress to the group stages [for the first time] since 2010.Morelos needs to learn to control his emotions can’t put team mates in the s… Magnificent team performance. Steven Gerrard will be delighted with the character shown by his players,” Rae posted on his official Twitter account.
Rangers showed great spirit to hold on against the odds in Russia and that will give them great confidence going into an Old Firm derby with Celtic at the weekend.
Celtic will be bidding to qualify for the Europa League group stages themselves on Thursday night when they play their second leg against FK Suduva at Parkhead.
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