UEFA Champions League – Half time review: Bursaspor versus Rangers
Rangers sustained early pressure from Bursaspor as the match kicked off at a frantic pace in Turkey. The Glasgow club side burst into a counter attack in the 5th minute of the match and thus they forced the first corner with their offensive intent.
However, as the set piece came in from the right, Bursaspor had packed the penalty area with white and green shirts as Rangers failed to make the most of their first proper set piece of the match.
In the 16th minute, Bursaspor had their best chance of the first half to open the scoring. The ball was crossed into Rangers' penalty area as Lionel Nunez found himself in bucket full of space. However, the striker’s shot which was supposed to
give his side the lead was way over the bar as Rangers breathed a sigh of relief. In the 20th minute of the match, Rangers took the lead through Kenny Miller. The Scottish striker was at hand in the Bursaspor penalty area as he collected a low cross
which was quite far from him.
Kenny then turned around and lashed the ball into the left hand corner of the goal to give his team the lead in Turkey as the score line came to 1-0 through Rangers first effort on goal. After getting their first goal of the match, Rangers adopted a counter
attacking strategy as they sat back and invited the home team forward. Bursaspor controlled much of the possession after going a goal down but they lacked the creative edge that was needed to push past the resolute Scottish club’s defence.
Rangers defended in quite a disciplined manner which saw them succeed to some extent at the back. The heavy amount of possession that Bursaspor had, made it tough for their opponents to really break free from the pressure that was applied on them. The first
half thus came to a conclusion with the score line in favour of Glasgow Rangers as they led the home team by one goal to nil. Bursaspor will be looking to make some attacking changes during the half time break while on the other hand, Rangers will focus on
securing the win by maintaining their defensive wall outside their own penalty area.
Tags: