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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
David Irvine

Three burning issues as Rangers edge out Servette in Champions League qualifying

Rangers edged out Swiss side Servette to progress into the play-off round of the Champions League after a score draw in Geneva.

James Tavernier's second-half header was enough to ensure progression for the Ibrox side with a 3-2 aggregate scoreline after victory in Glasgow last week.

Dereck Kutesa had fired Servette in front in the early stages with Rangers looking spooked. Danilo then passed up a golden opportunity to level as he turned over the bar with the goal gaping.

Jack Butland made a handful of superb stops to keep Rangers in it before Tavernier's header at the back-post in the second half. 

The Rangers captain nodded home from close range to send Michael Beale's side through.

Cyriel Dessers should have made it more comfortable with ten minutes left on the clock but he struck the inside of the post with a powerful effort.

Here are three burning issues after Rangers' aggregate win over Servette...

Job done...just

It wasn't pretty and certainly wasn't comfortable, but it was job done for Rangers.

Should Rangers progress to the group stage of the Champions League then the sticky tie against Servette will be quickly forgotten - but a failure to advance would have posed serious questions.

For Beale though, his players did enough when clearly not at their best as they forced their way over the line to make it to the play-off round.

Rangers will face PSV Eindhoven in the two-legged shoot-out for a spot in the group stage of Europe's elite competition. 

If they are to make it then they'll need to be better away from home in the Netherlands.

Jack Butland proves calibre

When Jack Butland arrived at Rangers he said he would take inspiration from Rangers greats such as Allan McGregor and Andy Goram.

He made a good start on fulfilling that goal with an impressive display in Europe when Rangers needed it most.

The former England international first denied Timothe Cognat with a low diving save in the early stages before later blocking Dereck Kutesa from scoring a second in the first half.

Butland proved his obvious quality in Servette and showed he can be relied upon for the big occasions even so early in his Rangers career.

Danilo Disaster

After netting against Livingston, Danilo must have been plotting a first goal for Rangers in Europe tonight.

Instead he had quite the opposite experience with a horror miss with an open goal at his mercy.

Put it down to nerves, pressure or limited time playing for Rangers so far; any way you look at it, it was a disastrous miss. Fortunately, it didn't prove costly. 

There were mixed displays for Rangers' new boys with the aforementioned Butland impressive - as was Jose Cifuentes in midfielder.

Abdallah Sima was industrious at the top-end of the pitch before Dessers and Sam Lammers were introduced in the second half but didn't set the heather alight.

Dujon Sterling was given the final six minutes and looked steady enough.

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