Rangers Head Coach, Philippe Clement, hailed Super Eagles, Cyriel Kolawole Dessers, after he scored a last-minute equalizer against Dynamo Kyiv in their UEFA Champions League qualifier clash yesterday, Soccernet.ng reports.
The Nigerian came under fire in Rangers' SPFL opener against Hearts last week, after he missed a couple of chances, but was the club's hero at the Lublin Arena in Poland.
Rangers suffered a blow eight minutes from half-time. An error from Turkish left-back, Ridvan Yilmaz, allowed Kyiv to work the ball down the right, freeing Vladyslav Vanat to fizzle a low cross for former Borussia Dortmund winger, Andriy Yarmolenko to tap the ball home.
Dessers had been denied by the Kyiv goalkeeper twice but the Super Eagles striker was not going to leave Poland without a goal. A last-minute attack saw a cross swept in by Vaclav Cerny, and Dessers tapped home to draw level against the home side with the last kick of the game, drawing praise from his manager, and his national compatriot likewise.
Right on time, CD9 @CyrielDessers 😌😁 https://t.co/o8F2NepNcQ
— Leon Aderemi Balogun (@LeonBalogun) August 6, 2024
Leon Balogun, prior to the game, came to the defence of the 29-year-old forward when he was quizzed about his trust in the striker's finishing abilities, as earlier reported by Soccernet.ng.
It gets better and better every time you watch it 💙
All from a throw in 👏
That flick on from Desssers👌
The pass from Lawrence to Jefte across to Cerny 🙌
And the assist from Cerny to Dessers😘Jefte loving life at Rangers 🇧🇷
Big Cyriel Dessers is worth every penny 🤫🤑 pic.twitter.com/xpInIza7ba
— Shorty (@ShonaMcLean86) August 7, 2024
The result leaves a tantalizing second leg at the Hampden Park in Ibrox. With the Stadium at their peak decibels on European nights, Philippe Clement was pleased Dessers gave his team an advantage with the late equalizer.
“I'm also really happy that Cyriel made the decisive goal today, so everybody can see how much value we can have for this squad. I think the big symbol for that is Cyriel today, because he played a really good game, and he had a few good finishes, but there was a really good goalkeeper on the other side, who also played for the national team of Ukraine. So, he kept on digging in, and he didn't lose his belief in that way, and he was there at the decisive moment. That’s what you want for a striker, that they never give up and keep on going,” the Belgian said in quotes revealed by The Scottish Sun.
Dessers didn't get going until former boss, Michael Beale was replaced by Clement. Under Clement, the former Cremonese man was able to score 22 goals and provide nine assists for Rangers last season, and the 50-year-old gaffer praised the Nigerian for his development as a player.
“I see a player that the last seven months has developed a lot in many assets because he wants to learn. Although he's not 20 years old anymore, he's 29 now I think, but he takes on every piece of information, and I only see him grow in the last couple of months in several things that we discussed, that we trained, that we worked on. So, I think we will get a lot out of him this season, and he's going to be very important for the squad in that way,” the former Monaco manager added.
The return leg of the UEFA Champions League qualifier will be played at Hampden Park in Ibrox next week Tuesday, with Rangers' home fans cheering them on.
