Glasgow Rangers delivered one of their finest away performances in Europe on Thursday evening, thrashing OGC Nice 4-1 in France.
It may not be on the seismic level of Borussia Dortmund in 2022 or Lyon in 2007, but Philippe Clement finely got a wonderful performance from his starting XI, and it came at exactly the right time.
The Light Blues scored three goals in a stunning first half, adding a fourth just after the restart. A consolation by Nice couldn’t take the shine of a truly incredible European display.
Hamza Igamane scored two goals. Could this be the catalyst he needs to cement a place in the starting XI?
Hamza Igamane game in numbers against Nice
The striker had scored just one goal for the Gers before this tricky European tie, netting against FCSB in October.
Perhaps bowing to pressure given Cyriel Dessers’ poor form, the Moroccan centre-forward was unleashed from the start, and it proved to be a wise choice.
Not content with scoring twice, Igamane also provided an assist during the game while making three key passes, attempting six dribbles and winning 80% of his aerial duels.
This was a solid display from the youngster, one that may have Dessers rather worried heading into the next couple of games.
Igamane wasn’t the only player who performed superbly against the French side, as numerous first-team stars could lay claim to being the most impressive in the side.
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Hamza Igamane’s stats vs Nice |
|
|---|---|
|
Goals |
2 |
|
Key passes |
3 |
|
Aerial duels won |
80% |
|
Touches |
43 |
|
Dribble attempts (successful) |
6 (2) |
|
Possession lost |
14 |
|
Via Sofascore |
|
The defence has come in for some stick as of late, but John Souttar was a commanding presence at the heart of the backline during the 4-1 victory.
John Souttar’s game in numbers vs Nice
The Scot has been Clement’s first-choice centre-back this season, but recent performances have been below the level required at Ibrox.
Performance in Numbers
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Against Nice, Souttar made seven clearances, made one tackle and won 100% of his contested duels throughout the game, a remarkable stat.
In terms of distribution, Souttar succeeded with 87% of his passes, while delivering six accurate long balls from ten attempts against the Ligue 1 outfit, regularly starting attacks from defence.
His performance even warranted a match rating of 8/10 by Scotsman journalist Mark Atkinson, who said of the defender: ‘This man is a blocking machine. The in-form Scotland defender was sound throughout and marshalled the Rangers back line very well. The centre-half has all the hallmarks of a captain one day’
With James Tavernier dropping to the bench for the second game in a row, could his time be up at the club? Especially after a solid performance by Dujon Sterling.
This would leave a vacancy for the captaincy. On his day, Souttar has everything in his locker to be one of the finest defenders in the country. The key for him now is to build on this display against Nice and use it as a platform ahead of the busy festive season.
If so, might he be a candidate for the captaincy? Only time will tell.
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