Scottish newspapers blown away by ‘fantastic’ Jack Butland in Rangers 0-0 draw v Sparta Prague
Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland was in inspired form for the Light Blues during their 0-0 draw with Sparta Prague on Thursday 26 October.
As Philippe Clement’s side were put under immense pressure by the Czech side throughout the game, the former Manchester United keeper rescued the Gers from an almost certain defeat, making four excellent saves to keep the Europa League campaign alive.
Neither side was able to grab a winner, ensuring that they remain level in Group C on four points, with Real Betis leading the way with six after their win over Aris Limassol to leave Ranger with work to do to qualify for the knockout stages.
Scottish Newspapers have been quick to praise Butland’s performance, The Scottish Daily Mail (27 October, page 79) gave the keeper a 7.5 rating primarily for his “fantastic double save” in the opening five minutes to prevent the Light Blues from falling behind early in the contest.
The Glasgow Times were similarly impressed by the 30-year-old’s heroics between the posts, giving him a seven rating, with more praise being directed to his early “excellent double stop” to deny Velho Birmancevic and Qazim Laci. Butland was “kept busy” but responded with a “number of smart stops to keep the scores level.”
Butland’s best mark of the night came from the Scottish Sun, who awarded the stopper an eight for his display, once again drawing attention to his early double save, suggesting his intervention “set the tone” for a busy first half. On top of that the former England international made “several big stops” in a “top display.”
Fantastic
Most of Michael Beale’s summer signings have been fairly criticised for struggling to adapt to life in Glasgow, with a number of Rangers’ new additions failing to hit the standard expected of them when they arrived at Ibrox for hefty fees.
But if there’s one man who’s matched expectations and more than likely exceeded them so far this season, it is Butland and the keeper has gone from strength to strength since arriving north of the border and shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon.
It is a cliche that goalkeepers can be the most important players in a side, but Butland’s display against Sparta genuinely kept the Light Blues in the contest and has kept their Europa League hopes alive and that sort of credit can be afforded to few other players this season.
Hopefully, as Clement’s reign at Ibrox continues, Rangers won’t be as reliant on the 30-year-old to produce masterclasses between the posts and will instead start firing themselves. But until then, Gers supporters will hope that this rich vein of form continues for a while yet.
In other Rangers news, Pascal Jansen has spoken out about the links between him and the Ibrox manager’s position