Glasgow Rangers continued their unbeaten run to nine matches in all competitions with a 1-1 draw at Ibrox against Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday night.
The Light Blues are currently eighth in the Europa League standings and would go straight through to the last 16 and bypass the play-off round if they do not drop any lower in the remaining two games in the league phase.
Hamza Igamane put the Scottish giants 1-0 up in Glasgow against Ange Postecoglou’s side, but substitute Dejan Kulusevski came on to score an equaliser for Spurs.
The scorer of the opening goal in the match was one of the top performers on the night for Philippe Clement, as Igamane caught the eye at the top end of the pitch.
Hamza Igamane's performance against Spurs
The Moroccan centre-forward was selected ahead of Cyriel Dessers to start against the Premier League outfit and justified his inclusion in the team with a strong performance.
It was his fantastically composed, left-footed, finish that put Rangers 1-0 up in the game after James Tavernier whipped a brilliant ball in behind the Spurs defence.
Igamane also completed four of his six attempted dribbles and created one chance for his teammates, which shows that he offered plenty to the team in the build-up to go along with his goal.
He did, however, lose six of his eight aerial duels and lost possession of the ball 11 times in total throughout the night, and there was another player for Rangers who was the real hero for Clement – Nicolas Raskin.
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Nicolas Raskin's performance against Spurs
The Belgian midfielder’s performance was best described by TNT Sports commentator Darren Fletcher, as he claimed that Raskin was someone “who could run all night” towards the end of the match.
It was a tireless showing from the former Standard Liege man, who started alongside Mohamed Diomande in the middle of the park, and he was even better than Igamane because he offered quality in and out of possession.
Raskin provided a calming and composed presence on the ball to dictate play for the Scottish giants, whilst also being dominant defensively to break up Tottenham attacks with regularity.
Minutes
90
Pass accuracy
92%
Dribble success rate
100%
Ground duels won
6/9
Tackles + interceptions
8
As you can see in the table above, the 23-year-old dynamo made a staggering eight tackles and interceptions – more than any other player on the pitch.
This, and his six of nine ground duels won, shows that he was dominant off the ball and helped to prevent Spurs from piling pressure on Rangers for prolonged spells, as he was able to cut out attacks before they could develop into dangerous situations.
His pass completion rate of 92% also shows that he offered reliability in possession to keep play ticking, helping to find the likes of Nedim Bajrami, Vaclav Cerny, and Igamane to get on the ball.
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Therefore, Raskin was the true hero for Clement on the night for Rangers with his sensational, tireless, performance in the middle of the park at Ibrox.