Hamza Igamane starred as Rangers cruised to a 4-1 win in Nice to ease the pressure on under-siege manager Philippe Clement and boost their chances of progressing to the knockout phase of the Europa League.
Nice had an early penalty decision overturned at the Allianz Riviera, only to find themselves 3-0 at half-time thanks to goals from Vaclav Cerny, Mohamed Diomande and Igamane – making his first European start for the club – albeit with the help from some “atrocious” Nice defending, according to Sky Sports’ Kris Boyd.
Igamane soon added a fourth after the break after another terrible mistake at the back from Nice defender Pablo Rosario, and “it should have been six or seven” said Boyd, before Badredine Bouanani netted a consolation with an impressive late free-kick.
Rangers are now unbeaten in seven consecutive European away matches under Clement, equalling the record of seven set by former boss Steven Gerrard in 2020/21.
As a result, Nice suffered their first home loss of the campaign, as Rangers moved up to eight place in the new standings – a position that would see them progress to the last 16 of the competition.
Rangers host Tottenham next month and then have away games against Manchester United and Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise in January and progress in the competition must be on the agenda.
Clement: Romp in France best show of season
Philippe Clement claimed Rangers’ stunning win over Nice was their best performance of the season.
Amid domestic struggles which have piled pressure on his shoulders, the Belgian boss watched his team again come good on the continent.
Clement told TNT Sports: “I think if we look at the opponent, yes, because of their strength, I think in Malmo (2-0) against FCSB (4-0), we had also really, really big performances.
“But knowing the level of Nice, this is probably the best performance this season.
“But the season is still young in a way. We talked a lot about that, about young squad, a lot of new players in.
“If you see how many new players were on the pitch today, only two months, three months, some already four months. But it’s still a short time at the club.
“So it starts to gel together better and better, and they become stronger and stronger, and that’s what we need to confirm the next weeks and next months.”
Story of the match in stats…
The key numbers
- Rangers scored four or more goals in an away major European game for just the eighth time, with this the first time they have done so since a 4-2 win at Borussia Dortmund in February 2022.
- Hamza Igamane became the youngest Rangers player (22 years, 26 days) to score two goals in an away major European game since David McPherson netted four against Valletta in Malta back in September 1983, aged 19.
- Rangers went into half-time 3-0 ahead, the first time they scored three goals in the first half of a major European match since November 2018 against Spartak Moscow in the Europa League.
- Nice conceded three goals in the first half of a major European match for the first time in 64 years, since doing so against Real Madrid in a European Cup match in March 1960 – it was the first time they had ever done so on home soil.
- Vaclav Cerny has been involved in five goals in his last three Europa League appearances for Rangers (3 goals, 2 assists), while in all competitions, Cerny has seven goals and three assists in his last nine appearances.
