Rangers fans have turned to social media to react to the news that Steven Gerrard has chosen to give debuts to new signings Ryan Kent and Lassana Coulibaly for the club’s clash with Osijek on Thursday evening.
Rangers take on Croatian outfit NK Osijek at 7.45pm this evening (Thursday, 26 July) in their second-round Europa League qualifier.
The Scottish giants announced their team’s lineup on their official Twitter account.
?? TEAM NEWS: Your #RangersFC team for tonight's @EuropaLeague match against @nkosijek. pic.twitter.com/lmaZcX9OM4
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) July 26, 2018
Gerrard makes three changes the team that faced FK Shkupi in the first qualifying round, with Ryan Kent, Ovie Ejaria and Lassana Coulibaly coming in for Ross McCrorie, Daniel Candeias and Josh Windass.
The interesting selection choice is the inclusion of Liverpool loanee Ryan Kent and Angers loanee Lassana Coulibaly, who both make their full debuts for the club, with fans voicing their excitement over the pair.
This is Futbol has rounded up a selection of the supporters’ messages on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/mini_moose_/status/1022539026723729409
https://twitter.com/Look_at_em123/status/1022538886793363458
Must be some player to replace Candeias. His partnership with Tav looked as if they spent the summer together
— Jamie MacDougall (@macdouj93) July 26, 2018
https://twitter.com/CraigTF1/status/1022539770843619329
That's a very brave team selection, cmon Rangers let's do this https://t.co/ySj891FUO8
— ?? (@FiveStarGer) July 26, 2018
Halliday still makes the bench ?
— Brian Roberts (@Brian_Roberts5) July 26, 2018
https://twitter.com/MichaelSeafarer/status/1022538898025660416
OPINION:
It’s great that Steven Gerrard can trust young players in an important game such as this. Both Ryan Kent and Lassana Coulibaly are great talents that deserve first-team football and playing on this stage in Europe can only be good for their development. These two players who contribute an awful lot to Rangers’ performance this evening and you can expect a few goals from Gerrard’s men against their Croatian rivals. This game time will be valuable for both as they look to get used to their new teammates. This is a must-win game for the new boss and he’s taken a risk by fielding some talented youngsters, good on him.