Slavia Prague boss calls Rangers’ Allan McGregor a genius
Allan McGregor made one of the best saves ever for Rangers last week in the Europa League clash with Slavia Prague.
The towering Scotsman has been lauded by pundits and colleagues alike for the past seven days. His last-minute stop kept the tie balanced at 1-1, but due to away goals it sits in the Gers favour.
Rangers are due to face off with the Czech Republic champions at Ibrox on Thursday in the second leg. Steven Gerrard’s side are undefeated in the Europa League this year, they have McGregor to thank for keeping that record intact.
Speaking to the Scottish Sun, Slavia Prague boss Jindrich Trpisovsky claimed the last-minute stop better than Gordon Banks’ against Pele in the 1970 Mexico World Cup. He said: “I don’t remember such a genius save.
“It really was outstanding. I would say it is better than the legendary save of Gordon Banks.
“The header was a really good hit and the field was wet – but he just had it by a PINKY.
“I have to say that I have never seen a better save. I can’t understand it.
“I would say that McGregor is a pivotal part of the Rangers team and we saw the other day that he saved a penalty against Celtic recently. He is really capable of holding the team. He has got an outstanding record.”
McGregor the mighty
It’s going to take another big performance on Thursday from the big man if we’re to advance to the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
The 38-year-old has been putting in outstanding performances all season for Rangers. It’s no surprise to see his name in all the headlines this week. He’s kept 20 clean sheets in 32 appearances this season, he’s as important as anyone to the squad [WhoScored].
It begs the question, when he inevitably does retire in a year or two, how much would it cost to sufficiently replace him? Surely, all parties have to agree to a new contract for him for next season.
After the Europa League clash, we have the small matter of an Old Firm derby on Sunday. Despite all the negative press this week, it will still be a great occasion for the club.
Arguably more enjoyable than actually winning the title last week. We’ll run them all over the pitch this weekend.
In other Rangers news, Ryan Kent has ‘doubled’ his value since joining.