Standard Liege coach Philippe Montanier was less than impressed about what he deemed the ‘questionable’ penalty which set Rangers on their win to a dramatic 3-2 Europa League win at Ibrox, speaking to Sporza.
Until James Tavernier slammed home his ninth spot kick of the season on the stroke of half-time, Steven Gerrard must have wondered whether his side’s terrific European record would come to an end on Thursday night.
Rangers had lost just one of their last 24 continental home fixtures under the former Liverpool captain.
But the Glasgow giants struggled to cope with the aggression and pace of an ambitious Standard Liege side in the first-half, conceding a sixth minute opener to Maxime Lestienne – the veteran winger who once replaced Memphis Depay at PSV.
And, even when Connor Goldson powered home the equaliser, Standard raced down the other end and snatched back the lead seconds later with Duje Cop, quite literally, putting his body on the line after Tavernier produced the kind of defensive mistake he appeared to have left in the past.
But as Montanier was keen to point out after Rangers scrapped to a 3-2 win which secured their place in the knockout stages, a debatable handball decision was the difference between the two sides.
“Two questionable penalties in two games against the Rangers,” the former Nottingham Forest coach fumed.
“This defeat is frustrating because we played really well for an hour. We were a little less precise in the last half hour. Our first half was good in all areas and we also started well in the second.
“But after that, we got a little less (precise) and the Rangers developed more pressure to keep the points at home.
“Everyone is disappointed because we really wanted to win here. We still feel like we were close to it.”
It was Scott Arfield who scored the winner, tapping home an ingenious Ryan Kent pull-back with a trademark late run into the penalty area.
Even without the inspirational Ryan Jack, Rangers’ midfield trio once again stepped up in Europe with Steve ‘the Ibrox Modric’ Davis shining alongside an increasingly creative and forward-thinking Glen Kamara.
Rangers produced arguably their poorest performance of the season in the first-half but, if they play like they did in the second throughout the competition, Gerrard’s side will be a match for anyone in Europe.
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