Rangers star Mohamed Diomande may have helped Celtic on way to seven-figure payout
Mohamed Diomande was the matchwinner for Rangers as they saw off Ludogorets Razgrad on Thursday night.
Rangers defeated Ludogorets 1-0 at Ibrox thanks to Diomande‘s low strike shortly after the half-hour mark.
Danny Rohl was not happy with every Rangers player, but it was a much-needed European win for the Gers to keep the feel-good factor alive.
But in the process of seeing off Ludogorets, Rangers may well have just given fierce rivals Celtic a major helping hand.
Rangers give Celtic big chance of reaching Europa League knockouts
Rangers face a possible UEFA fine due to re-emerging for the second half at Ibrox, but that was the only real blemish from Thursday on the face of it.
Rohl’s side can no longer finish in the top 24 places, which would be enough for a last-16 qualifying play-off spot, but Celtic very much can.
Indeed, Diomande’s winner against Ludogorets allowed Celtic to leapfrog the Bulgarian champions into 24th place as they were pegged back in a 2-2 draw with Bologna.
It means Celtic are in the driving seat for a play-off spot all thanks to Rangers, with Martin O’Neill’s side side knowing a win at home to Utrecht next week will see them avoid elimination.
Just reaching the play-off rounds will land Celtic an additional £260,000, while advancing into the last-16 proper is worth an additional £1.5million.
Mohamed Diomande does something last managed by Ally McCoist
Diomande has certainly been involved in the thick of the action for Rangers in the Europa League.
The midfielder now has two goals, three assists and two red cards for the Gers in UEFA’s secondary competition.
He is one of three players to have multiple goals, assists and red cards for one club, alongside Ricardo Quaresma for Besiktas and Ibrahim Sangare for PSV.
And with his goal against Ludogorets, Diomande is the first Rangers player since Ally McCoist in 1990 to score in a European competition in his first game back from suspension.
Diomande’s future at Rangers may have been called into question at times of late, but performances like the one on Thursday show why he is still a key player.
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