The reason why 2 Rangers stars missed Aberdeen win amid transfer talk as Clement reveals 'most pleasing' aspect of 3-0 win
The Rangers boss has explained why two attacking players were absent from the matchday squad to face Aberdeen
Philippe Clement has revealed the reason why exit-linked Rabbi Matondo and fellow attacker Oscar Cortes missed Rangers’ 3-0 Scottish Premiership win over Aberdeen at Ibrox.
Matondo, who has recently returned from a long-term hamstring injury, and Cortes were left out of the squad for the midweek clash, with youngsters Bailey Rice and Zak Lovelace taking their place on the bench in what was a convincing victory for the Light Blues.
Wales international Matondo has been attracting transfer interest this month and is reportedly on the verge of sealing a loan switch to an unnamed European club, while Colombian winger Cortes has been unable to build consistency since arriving initially on loan from RC Lens before the deal was made permanent last summer.
Asked why both players were absent from the matchday squad to face the Dons, Clement declared post-match: “Leaving out (Rabbi) was a sporting choice, the young lads who were on the bench are performing for the moment better.
“Oscar would’ve been on the bench but he had a small problem yesterday evening, not in training. We need to assess that in the next couple of days.”
Goals from Hamza Igamane, Leon Balogun and Cyriel Dessers ensured the Gers strengthened their grip on second place in the league table. Asked what the most pleasing aspect of side’s performance was, Clement told Sky Sports: “The connection with the fans at the end (was the most pleasing thing). It was almost full domination of the game.
“That's what we've been working towards for months. We've done that in moments but not enough. I'm really proud of Clinton Nsiala because of all the work he's been doing in recent months with the B-team and in training.
“We could have scored more, we had enough chances. We weren't efficient enough, we hit the bar and post as well. We knew we had to kill off the opponent, otherwise they can score with one chance. But we kept pushing.”