Journalist David Oliver has offered high praise for Steven Davis, saying he ‘deserves the Champions League’ after his latest outing for Rangers.
The Scottish club hosted PSV Eindhoven in the first leg of their European qualifier.
Having fallen behind to Ibrahim Sangare’s opener, Antonio Colak hit back to level the scores by half-time. A huge mistake from PSV goalkeeper Walter Benitez then allowed Tom Lawrence to put Rangers ahead via a free-kick, only for Armando Obispo to equalise with a 78th-minute header that meant the game ended 2-2.
With plenty of action, a number of players may well have caught the eye, but it seems as though Davis stood out above the rest with a performance that ‘belied his years’.
Indeed, in the Rangers player ratings for The Scotsman, Oliver gave the 37-year-old a 9/10 for his efforts and highlighted his role in one of the goals, too.
The journalist wrote: “Deserves the Champions League, and the Champions League deserves Steven Davis. Belied his years with his willingness to join the early press. Passing precise and movement always found room and that pre-assist equalising ball to Tavernier – chef’s kiss.”
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TIF Thoughts on Steven Davis and Rangers…
According to SofaScore, Davis completed 36 of 42 passes (an 86% accuracy), lost possession just nine times, and had a 100% crossing accuracy. Most notably, however, were his three key passes that helped unpick the PSV defence.
His most telling moment was indeed the beautiful pass he slipped through to Tavernier in the build-up to Colak’s equaliser and it certainly was a moment of Champions League-level quality.
No doubt, the veteran midfielder will hope to be just as impressive when Rangers travel to the Netherlands next Wednesday as they hope to book their spot in the premier European competition’s group stages for the first time in 12 years.