Stilitan Petrov amazed by ‘perfect’ Ianis Hagi as Chris Sutton predicts Rangers fate in Europa League
Stiliyan Petrov has dubbed Ianis Hagi’s goal for Rangers on Thursday night as “perfect” as he netted an equaliser in the 1-1 against Brondby.
Steven Gerrard’s men dropped two points in Denmark but managed to keep their hopes of qualification to the Europa League knock-out stages alive with two games left to play in Group A when Hagi netted after coming off the bench in the second half.
Ex-Celtic midfielder Petrov was impressed with Hagi’s impact while he and Chris Sutton feel a top-two finish is still on the cards for the Light Blues.
“It was a quality finish and the way he finished it was perfect. He was in a difficult area,” Petrov said on BT Sport 2 on Thursday night after Celtic won against Ferencvaros.
“What he had to do was [get his] head down, concentrate, good contact on the ball and it was a perfect finish.”
Sutton was then asked if Rangers and Celtic can qualify for the Europa League knock-out stages and he said: “Yes, pretty confident.”
Petrov added: “They’re in a very good position.”
Sensational Hagi
If there’s one man who’s really stood out this season, it’s Hagi.
Sure, the Romania international has his critics and he’s still someone who struggles to perform on a consistent basis.
But there’s no denying that the attacking midfielder has shown himself to be a gamechanger for the Gers and capable of stepping up in big moments.
Hagi’s spot in the starting line-up isn’t guaranteed and that both helps and hinders the Romanian.
It means that he’s always got competition with the likes of Kemar Roofe, Joe Aribo and Scott Wright vying to steal his place in the side.
That can serve as a motivational boost for Hagi but due to the wealth of options Gerrard has in his attack, it also starves him, and some of his teammates, of vital momentum.
Hagi’s consistency has always been a concern but when has he ever really had a consistent run of games in the starting line-up?
We understand Gerrard’s thinking but Hagi sometimes may suffer due to that.
In other Rangers news, Chris Sutton was also wowed by this “sensational” ace in the draw at Brondby.