OGC Nice 1 (Bouanani 83) Rangers 4 (Igamane 2 [45, 54], Cerny 35, Diomande 38)
Rangers secured an impressive victory on the ‘Cote D’Azur in France on Thursday evening – an overwhelming 4-1 demolition of OGC Nice to chalk up a seventh consecutive unbeaten European record on the road under Philippe Clement with Hamza Igamane the unlikely two-goal hero on a night when Rangers at times threatened to run riot.
Philippe Clement made one change from the draw against Dundee United with Igamane a surprise selection to the exclusion of Cyriel Dessers.
The ‘Allianz Riviera’ was far from filled to capacity as the game got underway – but the Nice fans present certainly produced a raucous atmosphere although by the end of the ninety minutes it would be the ‘Gers fans who were in full voice.
There was a penalty scare for Rangers – wearing all-blue – as early as the ninth minute when,
following a goalmouth scramble, Spanish Referee Ricardo De Burgos appeared to indicate a
spot-kick for a Dujan Sterling block on a Gastan Laborde cross only to rule out the award
after consulting VAR.
Two minutes later in a classic counter-attack the Light Blues should have taken the lead when Nedim Bajrami broke across the halfway line before squaring for Igamane who somehow was dispossessed.
Rangers were certainly intent on attack – just after the quarter-hour mark Jefte broke free to send in a twenty-yard shot that flashed just wide.
Nice suffered an injury blow in the nineteenth minute when captain Youssof Ndayishimiya limped off, substituted by Yael Nandjou.
Dujan Sterling was motoring down the right – and it was from his 35th minute cross that the deadlock was broken when Igamane’s layoff found Vaclav Cerny who found the back of the net with a deflected left-foot shot.
Three minutes later unbelievably it was 2-0 when a long ball from Sterling saw Mohamed Diomande take advantage of hesitation from Pablo Rosario to flick the ball home past the advancing ‘keeper Marcin Bulka.
Nice were far from out of it however – in the 42nd minute from a Tom Louchet cross Gaeten Laborde’s header was turned wide by Jack Butland.
Right on the cusp of the interval however another goal did arrive – and it was 3-0 to Rangers when a slack pass-back by Mohamed Abdelmonem was seized upon by Igamane who coolly rounded Bulka before slotting home.
Rangers were in dreamland – and although Nice restarted in determined fashion in an effort to somehow retrieve something from the game (Hicham Boudaoui testing Butland with a 25-yarder seven minutes after the restart that the ‘keeper turned wide) another catastrophic defensive error two minutes later saw Rosario find only Igamane with a ball out of the area, the Ranger curling the ball into the far corner of the net to make it 4-0.
The points were now all but secure – and just after the hour mark Philippe Clement made a double substitution with James Tavernier and Ross McCausland coming on for Sterling and Cerny then seven minutes later Ridvan Yilmaz and Dessers were introduced for Diomande and Igamane.
Youngster Bailey Rice came on in the 79th minute with Nedim Bajrami departing.
Nice did pull a goal back on 83 minutes when Badredine Bouanani curled home a superb twenty-yard free-kick – but Dessers should have restored the four-goal advantage in the dying minutes when he somehow shot wide with the goal at his mercy.
OGC Nice: Bulka; Louchet, Ndayishimiya (Nandjou 19), Abdelmonem, Bard (Ndombele 46); Boudaoui (Guessand 69), Rosario, Bouanani, Camara (Salhi 69); Moukoko (Cho 70) Laborde
Unused Subs: Dupe, Monteiro, Boulhendi, Bousnina, Everton
Rangers: Butland; Sterling (Tavernier 62), Souttar, Propper, Jefte; Cerny (McCausland 62), Raskin, Diomande (Yilmaz 69), Barron, Bajrami (Rice 79); Igamane (Dessers 69)
Unused Subs: Kelly, McKinnon, Dowell, Balogun, King, Fraser, Curtis
Referee: Ricardo De Burgos (Spain)
