Philippe Clement expressed his satisfaction with Rangers' dominant 3-0 victory over Aberdeen on Wednesday, a result that helped alleviate some of the pressure mounting on him and his team. The win came at a crucial time, as Rangers had been trailing Celtic in the Scottish Premiership standings. With this comfortable win, Rangers have now secured consecutive victories, cutting the gap to 13 points behind Brendan Rodgers' side, which was an important psychological boost for the team as they continue their pursuit of the league title.
The match saw Hamza Igamane open the scoring for Rangers just 13 minutes into the game, netting his 13th goal for the club. Rangers dominated possession and created numerous chances, with Ianis Hagi striking the woodwork at one point, but it wasn't until the dying minutes of the match that they truly put the game out of Aberdeen's reach. Two quick goals in stoppage time sealed the victory, much to the delight of Clement and the Rangers supporters.
Clement acknowledged that while Rangers had several opportunities during the match, with some excellent saves from the Aberdeen goalkeeper, the team kept pushing for more goals to ensure the win was never in doubt. Speaking to BBC Scotland after the match, Clement said, "We had chances, a few good saves from the goalkeeper, and we hit the crossbar and post. But we kept pushing, as I demand, to score more and kill the belief of the opponent." This determination to press for more goals despite being in control of the match was a key factor in the team's performance.
Aberdeen, on the other hand, continued to struggle, extending their winless streak to 12 games. They found it difficult to break down Rangers' defense, with Aberdeen managing just 11 touches in Rangers' box compared to Rangers' 43. Liam Kelly, the Aberdeen goalkeeper, had to make only two saves from six attempts. Manager Jimmy Thelin admitted that his side lacked composure and said, "You don't want errors like that, but they happen. We have things to work on." Aberdeen will be looking to improve their form and resolve issues in their next matches.
Clement was full of praise for his team's performance, saying, "We played really well. We had domination with and without the ball." The Belgian manager also singled out Hamza Igamane for his excellent form, which has been one of the key highlights of Rangers' season so far. Igamane's ability to score consistently has been a valuable asset to the team, and Clement stressed the importance of maintaining that level of performance throughout the season. "Hamza Igamane is doing really well," Clement said. "He needs to do this all season; it's hard to get to the top but harder to stay there." Rangers will be hoping that Igamane can continue his fine form as the season progresses and that their improved performances will help them close the gap to Celtic in the league standings.
With the win over Aberdeen, Rangers have shown that they are back to their best, and Clement will be looking for his side to build on this momentum as they continue their title challenge. The pressure is still on, but with a dominant performance like this one, Rangers are showing they are more than capable of rising to the occasion.
