French media react to 'one-sided' Rangers win vs 'pathetic' OGC Nice as 'opportunistic' Ibrox star praised

Hamza Igamane of Rangers points to the travelling supporters after scoring his team's third goal against OGC Nice | AFP via Getty Images

Rangers have been assessed by the French media - with the Ligue 1 side left shipwrecked by ‘Scottish waves’

Rangers savoured another blockbuster night in the Europa League as they destroyed Ligue 1 outfit OGC Nice at the Allianz Riviera to take a significant step towards the knockout phase.

Philippe Clement’s side managed to put their domestic struggles to one side yet again as they swept past the French side on their own turf to extinguish any lingering hopes of qualification for Franck Haise’s men.

A double from Hamza Igamane plus further goals from Vaclav Cerny and Mohamed Diomande lhad Rangers coasting to victory in the Cote d’Azur before Badredine Bouanani netted a late consolation with a crisply taken free-kick.

However, the Ibrox club could have added to the scoreline in the closing stages with substitutes Cyriel Dessers and Ridvan Yilmaz both passing up glorious chances. This was a result that helped to ease some of the mounting pressure on Clement.

We take a closer look at some of the responses to what the French media are saying about the result.

L’Equipe

Rangers' Moroccan striker Hamza Igamane (R) celebrates with Vaclav Cerny after scoring his team's fourth goal | AFP via Getty Images

“Everything could have been different if the penalty whistled at the start in favour of the Nice by Ricardo De Burgos had been upheld. But challenged by the VAR, the Spanish referee decided otherwise and finally reversed his decision after an interminable triple check. The rest was nothing but a long ordeal, barely alleviated by the sumptuous free kick from the left by Bouanani. Franck Haise's men could have been punished more severely given the number of opportunities they conceded. A really bad evening.”

Sport Orange

“Positioned at right back, Dujon Sterling did not just hold [his position] solidly in defence. The English player knew how to move forward to provide solutions for his teammates, which resulted in an assist for Mohamed Diomande’s goal.

“Two shots, two on target, two goals (for Hamza Igamane). The Moroccan striker was able to be opportunistic enough to exploit the many errors of the Cote d’Azur defence to score a goal before the return to the locker room. A second came shortly after the restart, which pushed Nice further into a one-sided game.”

RMC Sport

“Hit by a cascade of absentees, the Nice completely took on water this Thursday against a Rangers helped by the incredible errors of Nice (4-1). Qualification is in danger with three days to go. A total shipwreck. Certainly greatly diminished by a host of absences, but above all pathetic from start to finish or almost.”

Foot Mercato

“At the start of the match, Nice seemed too timid and suffered from the Scottish waves. The club from Scotland proceeded on the counter attack and wanted to punish on the transitions. But Nice showed too much wait-and-see attitude. Bouanani reduced the gap with a free kick at the end of the match. But that's all. With this new slap in the face, Nice is second from bottom in the standings and can almost say goodbye to qualification.”

La Parisien

“Miracles are for others. Nice remains stuck at the bottom of the Europa League standings. Against Glasgow Rangers, the absence of too many players proved prohibitive. Because Nice is hit by a cascade of absentees for this match the Nice coach had summoned five young people who had never played a single minute of play in an official match.”