“Rangers Navigate Pre-Season Challenges: Tactical Shifts and Player Updates from Standard Liege Friendly”
Rangers continued their pre-season preparations with a scoreless draw in a closed-door friendly against Standard Liege.
Manager Philippe Clement rotated his squad significantly, keeping only Jack Butland in goal throughout. Players like Jefte, Clinton Nsiala, Connor Barron, and Oscar Cortes all saw game time, but notable absentees included Captain James Tavernier, Todd Cantwell, Dujon Sterling, and Danilo. The match was held at the Sporting Club near Venlo.
Tavernier has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia, while Cantwell is also reportedly attracting interest from the Middle East. Danilo, who joined for £6 million from Feyenoord last summer, is back training after a knee injury ended his season in December at Tynecastle.
The first half in Holland was largely uneventful, with Cortes and Ross McCausland having the best chances for Rangers. The second half saw no breakthroughs either, as Clement fielded a youthful lineup including Cole McKinnon, Robbie Fraser, and Findlay Curtis, with Alex Lowry and Rabbi Matondo coming off the bench. Connor Goldson also returned after missing the end of last season due to injury.
This friendly marked the start of five warm-up matches for the League Cup holders over the next month. Next up, Rangers face Dutch giants Ajax at WHC Wezep’s home ground on Saturday, followed by a match against Manchester United at Murrayfield a week later. About 7,000 Rangers fans are expected to travel to St Andrew’s on July 24 to play Birmingham City, before finishing their pre-season schedule away to Union Berlin in Germany three days later.
Second-half lineup: Butland; Jefte, Nsiala, Goldson, Balogun; McKinnon, Raskin, Dowell, Fraser, Wright, Curtis.