Misleading stats show Rangers onslaught wasn’t what it seemed v Panathinaikos, exit-linked ace the hero
Rangers are through to the next stage of Champions League qualifying, after holding Panathinaikos to a 1-1 draw on Wednesday.
The home side took the lead in the second half after Filip Duricic’s header found its way past Jack Butland, but Djeidi Gassama was on hand to equalise with a superb strike just six minutes after.
Rangers will now face Czech side Viktoria Plzen in the third round of Champions League qualifying.
Here, Ibrox News looks at some of the data from the match.
Panathinaikos onslaught was not exactly what it seemed
Rangers undoubtedly rode their luck in the first half against Panathinaikos. The hosts had several massive chances, the best of which likely fell to Facundo Pellistri, who could only shoot high and wide.
And the stats show those chances, but do suggest a slightly closer game than it looked.
Key takeaways:
- Rangers did well to devalue opportunities: Rangers were dominated in the first half, there’s no doubt about that. Twenty shots, including six on target, suggest a battering.
- Panathinaikos managed to register just 1.65 expected goals, indicating the good job Russell Martin’s team did to make those shooting opportunities as uncomfortable as possible for the attackers.
- Possession stat is misleading: Panathinaikos were, understandably, keen to fly out of the blocks and Rangers, initially, could not deal with it. While they did enjoy the lion’s share of possession, much of this was down to the willingness of the home side to allow Rangers the ball and press up high.
Interestingly, just 1.19 of Panathinaikos’s expected goals came from open play, which suggests some of the chances that the Greek side enjoyed in the first half were not quite as good as initially thought.
There is no doubt that Rangers rode their luck at times, but Martin will be pleased by his team’s readiness to ride the wave and keep their shape.
Butland the big winner against Panathinaikos
It was Jack Butland who was there to keep Rangers level in the first leg by clawing off the line – a crucial save that may well have flipped the tie on its head.
And the Englishman was there once again on Wednesday (30 July), making himself big to stop Anastasios Bakasetas early on, before denying Pellistri when the former Manchester United man looked set to halve the deficit.
| Jack Butland | v Panathinaikos (30 July) |
| Saves | 5 |
| High claims | 4 |
There were doubts over Butland’s future at Ibrox towards the end of last season, but Martin will be glad to have the Gers number one on his side now.
Sign up for the Ibrox News WhatsApp channel and turn on notifications to have all the latest, breaking Rangers news sent straight to your phone.