Rangers utility man Dujon Sterling claims there was a method to the madness of his maiden professional goal in the Europa League draw with Benfica.
The Ibrox full-back – who started the game on the right-wing for Rangers – once again impressed and opened his professional account with a cool finish inside the box.
Darting forward with a late run which was expertly picked out by a slicing through ball from Fabio Silva, the moment had the Gers 2-1 up in the match.
But speaking at full time, Dujon Sterling revealed that Rangers had pinpointed Benfica’s poor defensive tracking as an area of weakness heading into the game.
Dujon Sterling: Rangers worked on Benfica goals
Speaking to a post-match press conference, Dujon Sterling was discussing the feeling behind not just his first goal for Rangers but also in football period.
In doing so, the full-back let slip of some of Philippe Clement’s pre-match preparations with Benfica’s reluctance to track runners something Rangers had hoped to exploit.
Rangers’ opening goal in the match, a pinpoint Tom Lawrence header, also came from a late run into the Benfica box.
“We worked on it,” said Dujon Sterling. “We watched it before, and they don’t track runners into the box so it’s just about getting the right timing.
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“They have some quality players but I thought we did well as well. Their goals, they didn’t have to create anything, they came from our mistakes but credit to us we grinded out a result which gives us great confidence going into next week.”
Europa League tie is wide open
Rangers’ Europa League clash with Benfica is very finely poised ahead of the Ibrox return leg this week and much of that has to do with Dujon Sterling.
The versatile Ibrox star once again continued to prove his value to the side with another top performance on the top stage, topping it off with his first goal.
It’s clear the Rangers management team do their thorough research into the opposition and fans will be encouraged to hear that the club’s goals v Benfica came as a result of pre-match preparation.
Now, all attentions are focused on Hibs before Rangers will hope to have a few more surprises up their sleeve on another huge Europa League night at Ibrox.