Robin Propper says three Rangers teammates were 'amazing' vs Man United, £4.5m did something 'fantastic'
01/24/2025 11:00 AM
Seldom has a heart-breaking, last-gasp defeat in European football – such as the one Rangers suffered at the hands of Manchester United on Thursday night – been greeted with such positivity.
Philippe Clement, for one, has no interest in wallowing in the negatives. There is no sense in wondering what might have been, had Bruno Fernandes not ghosted in at the far post to fire past Jack Butland with 92 minutes on the clock at Old Trafford.
Clement was more interested, and more impressed, by the way Rangers went toe-to-toe with Ruben Amorim’s expensively-assembled charges.
Nico Raskin, Hamza Igamane, James Tavernier stood firm, Cyriel Dessers scored a ‘sensational’ goal, and Jack Butland bounced back from that howler with some ‘incredible’ saves to keep the Red Devils out prior to Fernandes’ stoppage time intervention.
Robin Propper, meanwhile, tends to save his best performances for the biggest occasions.
Propper scored his first Rangers goal against Celtic in the 3-0 Old Firm derby victory at the start of the New Year. The Dutchman was largely imperious against Man United too.
Propper may have got a little fortunate when he tumbled in the box during Matthijs de Ligt’s VAR-cancelled opener, but he was in the right place at precisely the right time to deny Alejandro Garnacho on the goalline shortly after Butland’s own goal had given the hosts a lead.
Robin Propper hails three Rangers teammates after Manchester United clash
Propper, speaking to the media with Rangers still well placed to secure knockout stage football, was left ruing the nature and the timing of Man United’s winner, though the performances of many of his teammates meant the visitors could certainly depart Old Trafford with their heads held high.
"In the end, it was disappointing of course," Propper says. "You're thinking it's the last five minutes at 1-1 so you should hold it and keep a point. That's what makes it disappointing at full-time.
"[But] Cyriel's goal was a huge moment. It was an amazing finish. I'm obviously behind it and when you see the away fans celebrating… It was a fantastic goal.”
James Tavernier, from a new-look centre-back role, provided the assist. A long yet precise ball down the field, taken and finished in one sweeping motion by Dessers.
"It's a great pass from Tav, a good touch from Cyriel, and an amazing goal,” Propper reflects. “It was an incredible feeling at the time. I was hoping that feeling could stay with us a little bit longer.
"Did we think we had done it? No chance, because Man United are a team who can win games in small details and that's what they did.
"That goal is what Cyriel's capable of, for sure. You can see how good he is when he's in contact with defenders. You see how good his touch is and of course the clean finish. It was amazing. As a defender, it's great to know I have really good strikers in front of me."
- READ MORE:Rangers Youngest-Ever Players
Bailey Rice and Findlay Curtis impress in Old Trafford cameos
Dessers, Tavernier and Propper are all over the age of 30 these days.
At the other end of the spectrum, meanwhile, sits Bailey Rice and Findlay Curtis. Both 18-year-old’s caught the eye off the bench as Clement gave Rangers’ next generation the chance to sign.
Man United icon Rio Ferdinand lauded Bailey Rice’s composure and his ‘lovely left foot’. Praise Propper was keen to add to at full-time.
"It's amazing how well the young guys who came in did on the night," the former FC Twente captain smiles. "We all did it together. They showed a great mentality because we had a lot of switching positions for players and so many young guys had to come into this type of game.
"That's really good to know that we could manage that. It's disappointing to have so many injuries, which meant we had to do that. But the young guys did really well and we made it really hard for Man United to win this game
"It would be different if we could start with our first XI,” ads Propper, who played alongside converted right-back Tavernier for much of the second period. “But you can see we've got young boys who can play and they did really well.
"You can see Tav's quality in defence, I think he can play anywhere. He's already been on the right wing, right full-back and now central defence. He has a lot of experience and you see at the end his quality with the pass for Cyriel."
