match thread (image) [FT] Rangers 2 - 0 Porto (Morelos 69; Davis 73)

[barca72 440]

That Davis goal reminds me of the goal by Pedro Mendez at the piggery when Davis rolled a corner out to Mendez and he shot a beauty by Boruc.
Same distance, similar power.

[buster. 4,808]

4 hours ago, JFK-1 said:

Night's like last night not only provide a stage for players.

 

We've got a very good manager and coaching team that seem to excel in Europe.

When you look at the numbers, their European record is exceptional and it now deserves qualification to the KO phase.

 

I hope we have a substantial number inserted in his contract if another team think about approaching him.

 

Talking about numbers, it was not only a full house, a Half Million win bonus for the club, another win which will increase our share of the pot created by drawn matches but it adds value to our players and is another incremental step in the right direction for our business model.

 

The slow start turned into another fantastic night for our history books.

First time we've won two home games in a 4 team European group (12th attempt)

It's now eight undefeated at home against the Portuguese (6 wins)

Pepe may have 3 CL winners medals but he cannae get anything from Ibrox (2005 & 2019)

 

 

[Rousseau 9,399]

We were quite poor, I thought. Porto's tactical set-up caught us out, and that combined with several players just seeming nervous made for a really frustrating first half, first hour. However, the resilience to hang in was brilliant. 

 

Porto were playing a back-three at times; and with Kent and Barker not quite pressing effectively, they got into the final third quite easily. 

 

Our key playmaker Davis couldn't get into the game either, with their three floating midfielders; they were swarming all over him. I did notice we dropped him a little deeper in the second half, into a situational back-three at times. It meant he had a little bit of time to collect the ball, and it brought those Porto attackers forward allowing more space in midfield.

 

I thought their Captain Danilo was given far too much space. He's a a big unit in DM, but I think he needs time to play the pass; he's not cute with it, like Davis. I was thinking throughout, if we got someone pressing him quicker, we could've created some decent turnover situations. 

 

When Pepe went off, they switched to a 4-4-2, which finally gave us control at the back; Goldson, Helander and Davis could control the ball. 

 

The period when and after we scored was a blur...  

 

We should've beat Young Boys, but screwed it up; we should've beat Porto away, but couldn't take our chances. Last night we were not at our best for large spells, but showed a resilience to hang in there, and crucially, we took our chances. 

[buster. 4,808]

25 minutes ago, barca72 said:

That Davis goal reminds me of the goal by Pedro Mendez at the piggery when Davis rolled a corner out to Mendez and he shot a beauty by Boruc.
Same distance, similar power.

It reminded me of a goal he scored against Werder Bremen in that it was a second goal coming quickly after the first (playwise because it was at the very start of the 2nd half, Cousin having scored just before the break).

 

It was a double one-two that came from no-where and set us up for the win.

Indeed McCulloch should have got a third just after the Davis goal.

 

Brings back the memory of McGregor and his wonder save in the second leg.

[Rousseau 9,399]

13 hours ago, buster. said:

Barker is the man to come in !!!

 

SG's new go to European option.

 

The Mancunian Candeias !!

 

To be fair, I think he would prefer Jones. I think he wants someone that's disciplined, but that can run with the ball. 

 

[buster. 4,808]

1 minute ago, Rousseau said:

To be fair, I think he would prefer Jones. I think he wants someone that's disciplined, but that can run with the ball. 

 

In the little we have seen them, Jones appears to cope with the weight of the shirt a little better and just gets on with his game.

 

Barker may need time to grow into it.

[compo 6,161]

Now  can we get results in our next games against Feyenoord and Young boys we will need to up our game the first half last night was very poor we improved in the second with two good goals  we need to improve all over the pitch anyway the result paid a nice 40/1for my score cast so a nice pick up later today .

[JFK-1 1,675]

33 minutes ago, buster. said:

We've got a very good manager and coaching team that seem to excel in Europe.

When you look at the numbers, their European record is exceptional and it now deserves qualification to the KO phase.

 

I hope we have a substantial number inserted in his contract if another team think about approaching him.

I doubt money would sway Gerrard he's worth an estimated £60 million. I think he's simply a footballing fanatic who has to be in the game to be happy with his life. Story going around yesterday that Arsenal are preparing an approach for him which again I suspect he would turn down.

He's started this 'project' repeatedly stated that he's here for a 'very long time' and being on the verge of something special he will want to follow it through. The only thing that would move him anytime soon would be Liverpool and that's not on the cards.

[Rousseau 9,399]

It didn't matter in the end, because it was offside, but that save from McGregor, where he tipped a header over the bar, when it looked net-bound, was absolutely phenomenal! ?

[JFK-1 1,675]

Just now, Rousseau said:

It didn't matter in the end, because it was offside, but that save from McGregor, where he tipped a header over the bar, when it looked net-bound, was absolutely phenomenal! ?

20K a week for one save in a shift. Daylight robbery. ?