INJURIES, a suspension and a switch to a far more defensive formation saw Leon King drafted in to the Rangers side that took to the field against Liverpool in the Champions League match at Anfield on Tuesday night.
Yet, Borna Barisic is in no doubt the 18-year-old will feature regularly going forward regardless of the circumstances after being impressed by his team mate’s mature and assured display against the English giants on Merseyside.
There were very few positives for the Ibrox club to take out of their third Group A game; they were well beaten by hosts who dominated from kick-off to the final whistle and remain bottom of the section without any points.
If their veteran goalkeeper Allan McGregor, who pulled off a string of saves from Mo Salah, Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez, had not been in such inspired form they would have been on the receiving end of another doing.
The way that King acquitted himself, though, was notable. The centre half gave away a penalty which Salah converted when he brought down Diaz in the second-half. That aside, the youngster did well against one of the best sides in the world game. He was comfortable in possession and made several important tackles.
Barisic believes the Scot, who had made just 15 first team appearances before the outing down south and only got the nod because Filip Helander, James Sands and John Souttar were all unavailable, can be proud of his showing and will benefit greatly from the experience.
“I spoke with him after the game and I congratulated him,” he said. “It is not easy. He is 18-years-old. To go to Anfield and play like he played is a very big thing for the club and for him personally.
“A performance like that can only give him confidence to grow up. There is a long, long way in front of him and a lot of big moments. But I think he can hold his head up after this game and can be very positive.
“He needs to learn that in three days there is another game (Rangers play St Mirren at home in the cinch Premiership on Saturday) and he needs to forget this one. He has to take positive things out of the Liverpool game and do things better going forward. But I think he has a bright future. He is a great lad.”
Barisic added: “Yes, he probably got in because we have some injuries, but it doesn’t matter. In football you never know. Sometimes you are on the bench for 10 games and then in one game everything turns.
“We play every three or four days, the schedule is crazy. You need to prepare all the time. He acts well in training and is a very good lad off the pitch. He is always on top of the world. That is why he can go to Anfield and play like he played. He has a lot of quality as well.”
So does Barisic. The left back endured a torrid 90 minutes in direct opposition to Salah on Tuesday night. But he stuck to his task manfully and was not at fault for either of the goals that Rangers conceded against Liverpool.
When the Europa League finalists signed Turkish internationalist Ridvan Yilmaz from Besiktas for £3.4m back in July, it appeared as if the 29-year-old’s position in the starting line-up was under threat. But he has responded to the challenge and retained his place.
The 27-times capped defender revealed that he is keen to be included in the Croatia squad that travels to the Qatar 2022 finals next month and is determined to maintain his current performance levels.
“Listen, I am in the place where I wanted to be,” said Barisic. “From the start of pre-season, I said to myself there were some things that I wanted to do. I was very motivated.
“Even before pre-season, I worked very hard to be prepared, to not get injured, to play all the time because I know the season will be tough and there is a World Cup coming. So I was very motivated. I am in the place I wanted to be. I am happy that I am in a very good place and I can help the team.”
Barisic’s immediate goals now are to help Rangers maintain their push for the Scottish title, fare better in the rematch with Liverpool at Ibrox next week and register their first points of their first Champions League campaign in 12 years.
“In the Champions League you don’t have time and small details always decide a game,” he said. “But I think we grow which is the most important thing. We can take many positive things from the game, but we also still have to learn a lot.
“Liverpool are one of the best teams in the world. But we have two feet on the ground. That is the most important thing. The biggest thing is that we grow as a team in the Champions League.
“That can help us to grow and be better in our league, which is the most important thing for us. We will learn from this, we will grow, we will take positives.”
“It wasn’t an easy game, of course. We knew before the game where we had come to. Anfield is always a hard place to play. But I think that we played a good match.
“I think we have progressed. IK said it before, we want to do better in every Champions League game. Especially in the second-half, we played much better. They scored two goals from set pieces. We lost, we are disappointed, but we can take some positive things from the game.”
