Bring on Spurs and Man Utd

As anyone might, Rangers found being on the Cote d’Azur in November very much to their liking. Now the challenge is reproducing such scintillating form on the Perthshire Riviera this weekend.

Not so long ago, an away clash against St Johnstone might have seemed an awkward, possibly defining assignment for Philippe Clement, the under-pressure Rangers manager. After all, a McDiarmid Park defeat spelt the end for Giovanni van Bronckhorst at the same stage of the season two years ago.

As recently as the eve of this stunning 4-1 victory over Nice Clement was fielding questions about how secure he felt following the appointment of a new chief executive in Patrick Stewart. Well, at the end of a one-sided Europa League encounter, he former Monaco manager was sitting very pretty as he found relief in the south of France. The Ibrox side found what they were looking for too. Bring on Spurs and Manchester United.

Rangers returned to where their European travels began as long ago as 1956 to post a result as impressive as any they have registered on the continent between then and now. Three goals in a ten-minute period at the end of the first half set them on the way to a three point-haul that all but guarantees the Ibrox side a place in the knockout stage.

They all but eliminated Nice in the process. It’s possible to wonder how the French team will be able to recover after such an evisceration. Franck Haise’s side head to Lyon on Sunday.

This might have been the night when young Moroccan striker Hamza Igamane is said to have come of age. The 22-year-old, who was preferred over Cyriel Dessers, provided the assist for Vaclav Cerny to put Rangers ahead after 35 minutes. The winger’s shot benefited from a couple of deflections but it was good play from Rangers, with Igamane winning a ball in the middle that he should never have won after Dujon Sterling’s cross. He then tidily set up Cerny, who struck his eighth goal of the season.

Clement even had the luxury of taking Cerny off on the hour mark, along with Sterling. Ross McCausland replaced Cerny and club skipper James Tavernier, who started on the bench for the second successive match, came on for Sterling.

By this time it was 4-0 going on five or six. Nice had fallen apart. Okay, the French side were missing a host of regulars. They were forced to dip into their youth ranks. But they are still sitting fifth in Ligue 1. They were playing at home and were supposed to be fighting for their Europa League lives.

Pablo Rosario is not a natural centre half and it showed. The Dutch internationalist had to drop back the middle of the defence after captain Youssouf Ndayishimiye, an injury doubt before the game, was forced off after only 19 minutes. Rosario also inherited the armband but struggled to look after himself, never mind lead his teammates.

Rangers’ second on 38 minutes came after Rosario dithered after Sterling’s long ball from the right. The Nice player let the ball go over his head and Mohamed Diomande stole in to clip a fine shot over the head of the stranded Marcin Bulka.

In between the visitors’ second and third goals Nice might have pulled one back. Jack Butland made a flying save from Gaetan Laborde’s header. Then, on the stroke of half-time, it was 3-0 after Igamane picked up a slack backpass to round Bulka before taking his own precious time to slot into the net, with Diomande next to him for support if required. It wasn’t.

Rangers couldn’t hope to be as prolific in the second half. They weren’t but then they didn’t have to be. Igamane helped himself to his second of the night while heaping more embarrassment on Rosario, who he nutmegged after intercepting his slack pass before firing coolly into the far corner. A spectacular free kick late on from Badredine Bouanani was the only blot after a foul conceded by 18-year-old debutant Bailey Rice.

But Rangers will take 4-1 – it is the first time they have scored four times against French opposition. And to think the night had started amid fears they were about to go one down after a prolonged VAR check as the officials picked apart a passage of play that they seemed to suggest included three possible penalty claims, one of which was a handball against Sterling. Igamane then made a mess of a three-on-one chance. No one saw what was coming down the line on a historic night for the club and Scottish football.