Rangers legend reveals how he prayed for Cyriel Dessers during Europa League clash

Rangers began their Europa League group stage campaign with a 2-0 victory over Swedish Allsvenskan leaders Malmo at the Malmö New Stadium on Thursday evening. Manager Philippe Clement named Super Eagles striker Cyriel Dessers in the starting lineup, while his international teammate, Leon Balogun, was an unused substitute for the third consecutive match.

Dessers came close to opening the scoring in the very first minute when he rounded Malmo goalkeeper Johan Dahlin, but his shot hit the post after intercepting a pass. Fortunately for Rangers, Nedim Bajrami was in position to slot home the rebound and give the Scottish side an early lead.

Rangers’ all-time leading scorer, Ally McCoist, who was providing punditry for TNT Sports, expressed his relief at the outcome, saying, “When I saw Cyriel Dessers go through and go around the goalkeeper, I was praying for him to keep his head up because he had Bajrami in support. He goes for the shot, but fortunately, it comes back to Bajrami. What a start!”

Despite dominating the first half with ten attempts on goal, Rangers couldn’t add to their tally before the break. However, they doubled their lead in the 76th minute when Ross McCausland fired a low drive from the edge of the penalty area.

Dessers has been in fine form this season, directly contributing to ten goals (7 goals, 3 assists) in just ten appearances across all competitions. He also boasts an impressive European goalscoring record, with 17 goals, including strikes in the Conference League, Champions League qualifying, Europa League, and Europa League qualifiers.