A stunning goal from Glasgow Rangers of Scotland midfielder, Joe Aribo gave some consolation to his club in their UEFA Europa League victory over Royal Antwerp of Belgium, as The Gers suffered injuries to two key players in the away fixture.
Megasportsarena.com reports that, while Aribo took personal delight in his strike on target, it was not an evening of bliss for Rangers’ coach, Steven Gerrard, as both James Tavernier and Kemar Roofe limped off injured in Belgium.
Despite both injuries, though, the Ibrox side edged the rollercoaster Bosuilstadion clash with a 4-3 win, to claim a vital first-leg lead ahead of next week’s return leg in Glasgow.
Heading into that game, Gerrard admitted his team must improve if they are to reach the last 16 for the second year running, he also fears they will have to do it without their skipper, Tavernier and in-form striker, Roofe.
The Light Blues boss branded pre-match reports that Tavernier had picked up an injury ahead of his side’s trip to Flanders “fake news” but the discomfort on his captain’s face looked real as he was forced off after a collision with Martin Hongla.
Roofe also had to be replaced just before the break but Rangers still had enough quality to twice come from behind to clinch a dramatic win thanks to Borna Bariasic’s penalty double plus strikes from Aribo and Ryan Kent.
Gerrard said: “It was a crazy match. I’m sure the neutrals enjoyed it but as a coach I’ll be looking into it because we had too many issues defensively. The goals we’ve conceded are poor from our point of view.
“There is certainly work and a lot of improving to do. At this level, you get punished a lot more. Right now, I’m more concerned for Kemar because he feels it’s the same as a previous injury when he missed two to three weeks.
“Obviously I feel really good in terms of the result but I feel for both players because they are very important for the group. Let’s just hope the scan news is more positive than negative.
“I’m obviously very pleased with the outcome of the game in terms of the result. I think the boys showed amazing character to fight for the right result.
“We’ve put ourselves in a promising position and it’s very difficult to win away from home. So there’s a lot of me that’s pleased and proud but there’s still things going around in my head about needing to improve defensively.”
