3 Rangers talking points as Clement's men heighten Europa League knockout hopes with ruthless Nice demolition

Hamza Igamane stole the spotlight as Rangers eased to a thumping 4-1 victory over OGC Nice to boost their prospects of progressing to the knockout phase on the Europa League last night.

The Ibrox side found themselves in cruise control at half-time in the south of France courtesy of three quickfire goals in a rapid ten minute burst with Vaclav Cerny, Mohamed Diomande and Igamane all finding the back of the net after some atrocious defending from the Ligue 1 hosts.

Promising young Moroccan striker Igamane added a fourth shortly after the restart following yet another glaring defensive blunder from skipper Pablo Rosario before Badredine Bouanani netted a consolation with an impressive late free-kick to deny goalkeeper Jack Butland of a deserving clean sheet at the Allianz Riviera.

The Light Blues are now unbeaten in seven consecutive European away matches under Philippe Clement - equalling the record set by former boss Steven Gerrard in the 2020/21 season. This victory also helped to alleviate some of the pressure mounting on the Belgian boss amid their domestic struggles.

Here, GlasgowWorld reflects on three burning post-match talking points as Rangers moved another step to reaching the next stage of the competition with an impressive showing in the Cote d’Azur...

Defensive woes prove hosts downfall

For all that Rangers were ruthless, this was arguably one of the worst defensive displays you’re likely to see this season from the depleted French outfit, who surprisingly are the fifth best team in the country going by their current league position. Franck Haise’s side - without a number of key players - were blown away by the visitors on a sobering night and one that is sure to draw plenty of criticism.

This was schoolboy stuff at times. A comedy of errors. Firstly, they failed to deal with Dujon Sterling’s cross and were too slow to react to Cerny’s strike from just inside the box for the opening goal. Then stand-in skipper Pablo Rosario dithered over Sterling’s lofted pass and allowed Diomande to creep in behind and turn the ball home first time.

Igamane made it three after pouncing a dreadful blind pass-back from teenager Issiaga Camara deep inside his own half before Rosario saw another stray pass intercepted by the Moroccan and was left chasing shadows for number four. In truth, Nice were not up to scratch of the second tier of European football and it’s no surprise to see them sitting 34th out of 36 teams.

Igamane finally ignites

Making his first European start for Rangers, the 22-year-old might still be raw but he certainly stepped up to the plate here. An early moment of hesitancy saw him pass up an early chance but his hold-up play was excellent throughout and there was plenty to like about this performance for 70 minutes.

Igamane is far from the finished article, he would be the first person to admit that. Rangers fans have had to wait patiently to see the youngster in full flow and they will be hugely encouraged by what they saw from the frontman. Clinical in his finishing and alert to set-up Cerny’s opener, he did more than enough to stake a strong claim to keep hold of the jersey moving forward.

Different animal in Europe

Rangers at home in the Scottish Premiership compared to Rangers in Europe are two totally different animals. Not only did this win lift them up into eight place in the standings ahead of back-to-back fixtures against Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, they have now scored in their last five games in this competition - their longest run of games since a run of eight from October 2021 to March 2022.

Clement’s side are picking up results, but it’s on league duty where their problems lie. They somehow need to find a way to reel in leaders Celtic and next up on the domestic front is a trip to Perth to face St Johnstone on Sunday. It sums their season up so far that punters will have no idea what to expect from that game.