Breaking News:Philippe Clement as forgotten man stars in Middlesbrough goal fest
Ianis Hagi marked a rare Rangers outing with an instant impact as he sent Philippe Clement a reminder of what he can offer.
The Romanian has been out the picture at Ibrox in recent times having been shipped out on loan to La Liga with Alaves last summer under previous boss Michael Beal, and has been excluded from the Champions League squad for the vital qualifier against Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday night. A long term injury kept the playmaker out of action for an extended period and when he was unable to force his way back into the top team plans, he spent the campaign away from Govan.
After starring for Romania at Euro 2024, the attacker would have been hoping to make his mark on the first-team with the Ibrox men drawing a blank in the Scottish Premiership opener against Hearts at Tynecastle, but it was a B team outing today, and within three minutes of the contest against Middlesbrough, he found Findlay Curtis in the box, with the youngster making no mistake and firing beyond the Boro goalkeeper.
Curtis grabbed a second of the game inside the opening 15 minutes as he made the most of a defensive error from the English Championship side. However, three minutes later they were on the scoresheet to reduce the deficit. That response only lasted a matter of moments as Josh Gentles fired home for the hosts to make it 3-1 and four goals in the match in the opening 22 minutes.
On the half hour, Middlesbrough were awarded a penalty and made no mistake as they got themselves back to within one goal in a whirlwind opening start at the Rangers Training Centre. The sixth goal of the half arrived on the 40 minute mark with the visitors drawing level just moments after Hagi went close with a free-kick that went narrowly over the bar.
The 25-year-old, who faces an uncertain future at Rangers, played 45 minutes in the contest as part of a pre-planned change with the likes of Adam Devine, Bailey Rice, Alex Lowry and summer recruit Clinton Nsiala also involved in the goal fest. Hagi’s key involvement in the opening minutes didn’t go unnoticed by fans on social media who raised questions over his B team involvement before kick-off.
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