Adam Lallana selected rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor for credit after Scottish side were beaten 2-0 by Premier League giants Liverpool at Anfield.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s brilliant free kick and Mohamed Salah’s penalty saw Liverpool take a routine win in the Champions League on Tuesday evening.
Although Rangers will return to Glasgow disappointed, things could have been much worse for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side, who owed much to veteran shot-stopper McGregor for keeping the score respectable.
Liverpool had 23 shots – 10 of them on target – but found their way past McGregor only twice, with the 40-year-old making a series of saves to reject the likes of Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz.
Discussing the Champions League clash, former Liverpool midfielder and current Brighton star told Lallana: BBC Radio 5 Live“It was extremely comfortable for Liverpool and I was a little disappointed with the way Rangers handled the game, especially after their good result over the weekend.
“I thought they would play with a little more aggression and on the front foot, but it was Liverpool’s total domination.
Rangers were passive in their setup. It was a flat back five, [James] Tavernier never came forward. But it’s a hard place to go.
“It can be intimidating, but maybe tonight was a perfect game for Liverpool after a few failures.
“It would have been five or six for Liverpool had it not been for Allan McGregor, I thought he was incredible tonight.”
The 2-0 win over Anfield lifts Liverpool to six points after three Champions League games, while Rangers remain bottom of Group A, still without a goal, let alone a point.
Alexander-Arnold, who was named Player of the Match after playing for the home side, said: “The boys’ performance was great.
‘On Saturday [a 3-3 draw with Brighton] it was disappointing. We never got going, our press wasn’t there, we were slow out of the blocks.
“But today it’s the exact opposite. We started well and continued throughout the game. They had their spells and the second half was tough, but overall we played excellent.’
Van Bronckhorst, meanwhile, insisted that his Rangers side – currently second in the Scottish Premiership, two points behind rivals Celtic – would learn from their somewhat humble defeat at Merseyside.
“We knew it was going to be a very difficult game,” he said. “We knew the attacking threat they have, with players running almost every time they have the ball and have the space.
“I think we improved from the first game in the Champions League, but the level is very high and the level we had today was not good enough to get anything out of the game.
‘Don’t forget which opponent we’re playing against. Everyone says, “It’s Liverpool, they’re not in shape”, well you see today the level they can reach.
“The gap is clear. You have to look at the rosters – we are competing against one of the best teams in Europe.
“It doesn’t mean you have to lose the game. I think we fought very well and we will learn from this match. We have to take those experiences with us to the next match and to the competition.’
Liverpool and Rangers return to domestic action this weekend, with the Reds heading to Premier League leaders Arsenal and the Gers to host St Mirren.
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