Cyriel Dessers scoring his equalizer against Manchester United at Old Trafford in the UEFA Europa League. [Photo Credit/ Imago].
Rangers head coach, Philippe Clement, has praised his team for showing great mentality in their UEFA Europa League loss to Manchester United, singling out Cyriel Dessers, Soccernet.ng reports.
The Gers were in good form prior to the clash against Ruben Amorim’s men, coming off the back of a resounding 5-0 win over Fraserburgh where Cyriel Dessers bagged a hat trick, his first for the club.
The Nigerian was relegated to the bench again ahead of his side’s crucial Europa League fixture against Manchester United. Due to injuries, Philippe Clement opted to field a seemingly younger team, and they put up a fight against the Red devils.
Rangers had early openings in the game but Nicolas Raskin and then Ridvan Yilmaz failed to capitalise before Jack Butland made a couple of strong saves. The goalkeeper eventually gave in for an own goal in the 52nd minute.
Dessers came off the bench and put his side level in the 88th minute but Rangers were left with a bitter aftertaste after Bruno Fernandes clinched the winner in additional time.
“The young players feel positive with the chances they get. They get a lot of support from the staff as well as the senior players. You see this is a group that sticks together in all circumstances.
“It is easy to go behind 1-0 to Manchester United and to lose belief when you have so many young players on the pitch who don’t have experience at this level,” Philippe Clement said in quotes revealed by Rangers official website after the game.
Additionally, the Belgian gaffer praised Dessers for his composed finish, but was sad his side left the Theatre of Dreams without a point.
“We kept going and scored a very good goal, it was a great finish from Cyriel, but it is a pity we got a sucker punch at the end as the team deserved more and a draw would have been a fair result,” the Rangers coach added.
Manchester United and Rangers still need to pick up points in their final Europa League group phase games if they’re to head to the knockout stages without the play-offs.
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