Forget Tavernier: Rangers machine with 83% duels won was GvB's unsung hero at Ibrox - opinion

Gio van Bronckhorst’s Rangers continued their impressive Europa League campaign as they won 3-0 at Ibrox on Thursday night.

The Gers won the first leg of their knockout tie as they swept aside their opposition with an exceptional performance in Glasgow.

Ryan Kent was tripped in the penalty area to hand James Tavernier the chance to open the scoring, and he duly obliged as he struck his spot kick into the top corner.

Alfredo Morelos then quickly made it 2-0 as he swept the ball into the back of the net, reacting quickest to a bouncing ball in the box to fire it into the bottom corner.

Allan McGregor saved a Red Star Belgrade penalty to avoid a nervy second half, with Leon Balogun rounding out the scoring with a superb header from Tavernier’s corner to complete the 3-0 rout.

The Gers captain ended the night with a goal and an assist from right-back as he played a major role in his team’s success, but there were other standout performers in blue. One of Van Bronckhorst’s unsung heroes last night was Calvin Bassey.

The left-back may not have found the net or supplied an assist, but he was superb from start to finish and is deserving of praise for his excellent display at Ibrox in the Europa League clash.

Defensively, he was almost perfect. As per SofaScore, he won five of his six individual duels (83%), which shows that he dominated the Red Star forwards physically throughout the match. He also made two clearances, one tackle and an impressive three blocks as his positioning allowed him to make key contributions in the defensive third.

On the ball, he progressed the play for Rangers. As per SofaScore, Bassey completed both of his attempted dribbles and created one chance from left-back, which shows that he was able to use