Rangers secured a 2-2 draw against Benfica in the Europa League first away from Ibrox on Thursday night.
Philippe Clement said after the game that he was proud of his players for the performance they’ve delivered but he isn’t happy with the result.
Benfica have not lost an Europa League game at home in their history and Rangers could have changed their record. They twice took the lead, but in the end, a controversial penalty and an own goal left them frustrated.
Clement, however, was full of praise for his players. He said that he read that Benfica’s “transfer value is £120 million” for Rangers, but on the pitch his players gave everything, and that he cannot ask for more.
Tom Lawrence and Dujon Sterling scored for the Bears while Fabio Silva was outstanding throughout the game.
“Everyone showed character and gave their maximum to get a good result and this is a good result, to get a draw away to Benfica and score two really nice goals,” said Clement, as quoted by the Daily Record.
“We have a big challenge at Ibrox. You see the quality they have. I read their transfer value is £120 million more than ours so we know it’s a big task but I can’t ask more than what my players gave me today. I want to see the same next Thursday but first we have a very important game on Sunday.”
Big challenge at Ibrox
While Benfica applied loads of pressure in the second half, Rangers handled the pressure very well.
At Ibrox, the atmosphere will be electrifying and it will give extra impetus to the players to grab a win.
Benfica are one of the richest clubs in Portugal and Europe and they have a strong European pedigree. They can buy top players and operate on a high budget which Rangers can’t even imagine.
The fact that Rangers matched them toe-to-toe suggests how well-prepared they are under Clement. The second leg will be huge for the Gers, but they will believe they can beat any side at Ibrox on their day.
However, the focus now shifts to the Scottish FA Cup when Rangers will face Hibernian on Sunday.
