Hamza Igamane starred as Rangers cruised to a 4-1 win in Nice to ease the pressure on under-siege manager Philippe Clement and boost their chances of progressing to the knockout phase of the Europa League.
Nice had an early penalty decision overturned at the Allianz Riviera, only to find themselves 3-0 at half-time thanks to goals from Vaclav Cerny, Mohamed Diomande and Igamane – making his first European start for the club – albeit with the help from some “atrocious” Nice defending, according to Sky Sports’ Kris Boyd.
Igamane soon added a fourth after the break after another terrible mistake at the back from Nice defender Pablo Rosario, and “it should have been six or seven” said Boyd, before Badredine Bouanani netted a consolation with an impressive late free-kick.
As a result, Nice suffered their first home loss of the campaign, as Rangers moved up to eight place in the new standings – a position that would see them progress to the last 16 of the competition.
Story of the match in stats…
The key numbers
- Rangers scored four or more goals in an away major European game for just the eighth time, with this the first time they have done so since a 4-2 win at Borussia Dortmund in February 2022.
- Hamza Igamane became the youngest Rangers player (22 years, 26 days) to score two goals in an away major European game since David McPherson netted four against Valletta in Malta back in September 1983, aged 19.
- Rangers went into half-time 3-0 ahead, the first time they scored three goals in the first half of a major European match since November 2018 against Spartak Moscow in the Europa League.
- Nice conceded three goals in the first half of a major European match for the first time in 64 years, since doing so against Real Madrid in a European Cup match in March 1960 – it was the first time they had ever done so on home soil.
- Vaclav Cerny has been involved in five goals in his last three Europa League appearances for Rangers (3 goals, 2 assists), while in all competitions, Cerny has seven goals and three assists in his last nine appearances.
