Rangers ‘not at the standard’ to play in Champions League – Valentine Driessen
Leading Dutch pundit Valentine Driessen is of the opinion that Rangers are “not at the standard” to be playing in the UEFA Champions League.
The Gers suffered a thrashing 4-0 defeat against Ajax in their opening fixture in Europe’s elite club competition on Wednesday (07 September).
Driessen was quoted in a report by Football Scotland where he stated that the side’s central defenders’ poor performance was one of the reasons for Mohammed Kudus’ great performance on the night.
“The euphoria surrounding Kudus makes no sense at all,” he said. “Yes, he played a great game that night, but did you see the Rangers central defenders? They never got near to him all night.
“Let’s wait and see him play against Liverpool because truthfully, the Scots were not at the standard required for this level and he’s nowhere near top class yet.”
Wakeup call
Rangers entered the season hoping to better what they did in the previous campaign where they finished as the runners-up in the Europa League.
The season started in such a manner that gave the Gers a lot of hope as the side qualified for the first time in the group stage of Europe’s elite club competition for the first time in more than a decade.
However, results in the last week have been a wakeup call for the side as they suffered thrashing defeats, first against Celtic in the first Old Firm derby of the 2022-23 campaign and then later against the reigning Dutch champions.
Not only the results but the overall performance of the team would’ve been extremely concerning for manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
The fans will be looking up to him to ensure that he will galvanise the players and motivate them to make a strong comeback in the matches to come.
In other Rangers news, two points is the best the club can hope for in the Champions League this season according to a talkSPORT pundit.