Philippe Clement bursting with Rangers pride but Seville stunner tempered as it does nothing for cup final blockbuster

Philippe Clement bursting with Rangers pride but Seville stunner tempered as it does nothing for cup final blockbuster

After enjoying one of the “great nights” of his managing career,

a proud Philippe Clement promptly challenged his record-breaking

Rangers to equal their heroics in the Europa League at Hampden.

After witnessing the Light Blues break their Spanish curse in Seville,

the giddy Belgian was overcome with happiness.

At their fourteenth attempt, the Gers achieved their first-ever away victory over

La Liga opponents with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Real Betis.

And that means that, having advanced to the round of 16,

Rangers will be dreaming of this year’s championship in Dublin,

19 months after they suffered heartbreak in the tournament final.

Clement is aware that his team’s next test will come on Sunday when

they play Aberdeen in the Viaplay Cup Final,

so he knows they won’t have much time to enjoy their Andalusian adulation.

With great pride, the Rangers coach expressed his admiration for them.

I see a winning squad that never gives up and consists of all players,

regardless of whether they start or stop playing.

They acted in that manner today.

As I previously stated, what I wanted to see was a squad that had balls,

was brave, and wasn’t only interested in defending;

I wanted to see a team that was fearless with the ball.

“And they carried it out. Better in the first half than in the second,

as Betis’s strength increased. However, we persisted, stuck together,

and eventually the time arrived. After our brief time together,

I have never felt more proud to be a coach.

“Lucky me, I’ve already had a few nice evenings.

It’s undoubtedly one of the best evenings, though.

My tendency to think about the next one already is one of my weaknesses.

“I’ve had some unique experiences with Brugge and Genk,

but this is the first time I’ve felt that way with this team.

I’m quite pleased with the progress we’re making in terms of mental,

physical, technical, and tactical development.

Even while we’re moving in the right direction, much work remains.

How can this help the team in the lead-up to Sunday? Nothing.

We beat Betis, thus in my opinion, it makes no difference. The game is different.

Naturally, this will boost our confidence, but for the time being,

we must make sure that we maintain our groundedness.

The most important thing about today is that everyone in the locker room understands that

they will succeed if they work hard and remain together.

At Estadio Benito Villamarin, Rangers took a risk by going head-to-head with a

team that hasn’t suffered a home loss since May.

However, they achieved their desired outcome as goals from Cyriel Dessers, Abdallah Sima,

and substitute Kemar Roofe defeated Betis

who will now play in the Conference League—to take first place in Group C.

“There were a lot of records to break,” Clement continued. Similar to how you qualified for the Olympics.

Everyone believes it’s impossible when you perform the high leap and lift the bear that high.

But after that, you ignore it.

The lads demonstrated quality, bravery, perseverance,

and doing the right thing without the ball today.

For the remainder of the season, this must be the point of reference.

You’ll see that we are capable of incredible things when we band together.

We will work extremely hard to take home our first trophy. But we also need to exercise humility.

Clement was ecstatic to witness whipping boy Dessers silence his Ibrox detractors with a

magnificent solo performance that gave the Gers the advantage

between strikes from Ayoze Perez and Juan Miranda.

“You can see he is really working hard to do the things how we want the striker to play,” he stated,

referring to Cyriel as one of the players on the plane with whom he had spoken via video to improve things.

“I’m not happy about having to make a change at halftime because Jose Cifuentes sustained a muscular injury, which is upsetting for me.

“However, you saw that Dujon Sterling entered the game and excelled in the midfield.

We need everyone to have that mindset—fighting for the team while being proficient with the ball.

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