Thelwell has played blinder – Three things learned from Rangers v Panathinaikos
Rangers secured a vital 1-1 draw against Panathinaikos to emerge unscathed from the second leg of their Champions League qualifier.
The Gers had to withstand heavy pressure in Athens as their hosts threw everything at them in a bid to overturn their two-goal deficit from Ibrox last week.
Djeidi Gassama’s 60th-minute volley was enough to send Rangers through to the third qualifying round of the Champions League, and there are now just two more ties standing in their way of a potential spot in the league phase.
With that in mind, Ibrox News picks out three things that we learned from the Govan outfit’s trip to the Greek capital on Wednesday (30 July).
Martin needs to protect Djiga a little
Nasser Djiga looks likely to become the regular partner to John Souttar at the heart of Rangers’ defence, but he has not had the easiest start to his time with them.
The 22-year-old was caught on the ball in a dangerous area of his own third early into the game, in an incident akin to one which almost cost his side in the first leg at Ibrox.
The build-up play that Martin desires asks a lot of the central defenders with the ball at their feet, and while the Wolves loanee has largely looked capable so far, he has shown that he has the odd lapse of concentration within his game.
Martin may benefit from trying to take the defender out of the firing line a little in the next few days, by asking Jack Butland to try and filter the ball through Souttar instead as frequently as possible.
If he can manage that, then it could help Djiga to ease his way into the Premiership a little more.
Aarons can’t be a long-term solution at left-back
Max Aarons was used by Martin on the left side of the defence in both legs of the tie, and we saw the issues with that in the second leg on Wednesday (30 July).
The Bournemouth loanee is primarily a right-back by trade, but he has been favoured to Jefte in the Panathinaikos clashes largely due to the experience that he can provide.
However, he was caught out on several occasions in the second leg, and he fell behind the defensive line to play Filip Djuricic onside for Panathinaikos’ goal.
Several chances came down the 25-year-old’s side for the hosts, and it highlighted the fact that Aarons should be little more than a short-term solution for Martin on the left.
Kevin Thelwell has played a blinder with Gassama signing
Djeidi Gassama has already highlighted himself as one of Rangers’ best pieces of transfer business this summer, and he showcased his ability to produce big moments once again in the second leg.
The winger fired a composed volley in off the far post to restore parity on the night, just six minutes after Panathinaikos had halved their deficit in the tie.
It was a crucial intervention from the Frenchman, and had he not produced the inch-perfect finish, the hosts could have easily continued their momentum and found the all-important second goal to take the game to extra time.
Instead, Gassama’s goal took all the sting out of the game, and Rangers were left with a relatively comfortable half an hour to get themselves over the line.
Kevin Thelwell worked hard to get him into the club, and he appears to have played a blinder with the transfer, as Gassama is already establishing himself as a man for the big moments with the Gers.
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