Big game fight, midfield options and Glenn Middleton – five things we learned in Rangers’ Europa League draw with Villarreal

RANGERS head home from their Europa League opener with a hard-earned point after a 2-2 draw with Villarreal.

It looked like it would be a long night when Carlos Bacca opened the scoring for the La Liga side after just 45 seconds, and the Ibrox side were faced with a first half onslaught.

But in the second half Rangers found an equaliser, and levelled again following the cheap concession of a second goal to the Spanish side’s Gerard Moreno.

Here’s what we learned from the match.

Rangers have fight under Gerrard

We knew this already from the match which got the Ibrox side into the group stages – holding on with nine men against Ufa.

Tonight, however, showed they can do it against higher quality opposition.

Villarreal are arguably the best side they’ll face this season and it showed great character to come back from behind not once but twice.

Going behind after 45 seconds would have led to sides under the likes of Graeme Murty and Pedro Caixinha to completely crumble.

As would the Moreno strike, which came just two minutes after Scott Arfield’s equaliser.

But this Rangers team are made of something different, and add in the fact they were without Alfredo Morelos – whose hold-up play would have been particularly useful – and Ryan Jack – who would’ve added extra steel in midfield and mopped up the loose ends – emerging with a point away in Spain is a very impressive result.

Tale of two halves

The old cliche was certainly true for this match.

Rangers were sloppy on the ball in the first half and rode their luck at times.

But a brilliant second half performance rescued the game – with the exception of poor defending at Moreno’s goal – and the two goals Rangers scored were superb moves.

James Tavernier excelled as captain and played a pivotal role in the equaliser that gave Rangers a foothold in the game, and Kyle Lafferty led the line well in the second half and was in the perfect position to net the second equaliser.

Like the Maribor game earlier in the season, Rangers seem capable of upping the ante in the second half when it’s required.

And while most domestic matches will see them utilise their attacking threat for vast swathes of the game, they can distil it down into ruthless counter strikes when putting in a more defensive performance.

Glenn Middleton has bags of potential

A goalscorer when he came on against Dundee at the weekend, the youngster made an impact again on a bigger stage.

As soon as he came on he offered direct running at the Villarreal defence, forcing a foul and a booking on his first attempt.

His ball through to Borna Barisic was perfect to allow the Croatian to get into his stride and deliver a ball for Lafferty to equalise.

Middleton will surely feature against St Johnstone and Ayr United – he’s earned a start.

The lesser-spotted midfielders have a role to play

With a number of new midfielders arriving under the Gerrard revolution and with the former Scotland man out injured, it was a possibility that we’d seen the last of Graham Dorrans in a Rangers shirt.

He had a very small cameo at the end of the match, but a surging run followed by a moment of sublime skill as he played a no-look pass to set up Arfield for the chance at a winner showed what he’s capable of.

Fellow midfielder Ross McCrorie also proved his worth when he came on to solidify things near the end.

And don’t forget Andy Halliday, whose Rangers career was written off as soon as Gerrard arrived.

The manager clearly has him in his plans, and Halliday’s performance last night was a far cry from those under Murty and Caixinha – his pass completion stat of 91% was the same as Santi Cazorla’s.

Joe Worrall will be a useful addition to the squad

Steven Gerrard made a big decision in giving the on-loan Nottingham Forest defender his Rangers debut at El Madrigal.

And the 21-year-old impressed at the heart of defence, especially in recovering from Carlos Bacca’s shock opener.

Gerrard praised the England under-21 as ‘outstanding’ in the game.

The addition of Worrall as a defensive option, as well as Gareth McAuley, will ease concerns fans may have about the options available were one or both of first choice pairing and solid unit Connor Goldson and Nikola Katic to be unavailable.