July 26, (THEWILL) – A trio of Nigerian players featured as the Scottish Premier League champions Glasgow Rangers were remarkable when their team claimed an impressive 2-1 win against La Liga giants Real Madrid at home in the Ibrox Stadium.
The Sunday evening friendly was the first for the visitors in their official pre-season calendar even if they had played warm-up matches against Fuenlabrada and Rayo Vallecano behind closed doors before their trip to Scotland.
Although it meant that new manager Carlo Ancelotti registered a debut pre-season loss, he will be credited for having picked Marvin Akinlabi in his matchday squad and introduced him off the bench fifteen minutes into the second half.
Like clockwork, victorious manager of Rangers, Steven Gerrard brought on Calvin Bassey into action while Nigerian centre-back Leon Balogun, who scored their first goal against Arsenal in their third club friendly, played the last four minutes of the game to lock up the back and seal the victory.
Interestingly, Madrid opened the scoring after only eight minutes. Rodrygo coolly hit a right-footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom-right corner following a quick counter-attack launched by Martin Odegaard, who is enjoying a rejuvenation under Ancelotti.
The unbowed Rangers that enjoyed a record-setting season during the 2020/2021, kept up with Real’s challenge until Zambian forward, Fashion Sakala, raced away from his marker and rifled his shot into the bottom corner to equalise 10 minutes into the second half.
A string of substitutions from both managers introduced players into the match to give them pre-season action. One of those Gerrard substituted in, Cedric Itten, scored what proved to be the winning goal thirteen minutes from time, a minute after Real’s Nacho Fernandez had been red-carded.
It was not certain why Rangers manager Gerrard left out Nigerian international Joe Aribo from the Rangers matchday squad for the third consecutive game. THEWILL recalls that Aribo was absent from previous ties against Arsenal and Brighton and Hove after his sterling display last season.
It was still a beautiful way for Rangers to wrap up their pre-season contests. They must now get their acts together ahead of the defense of their Scottish title which kicks off with a match against Livingston following the calendar of schedules of the Scottish Premier League.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
