Nice 0-2 Rangers: Jermain Defoe on target as Rangers win Veolia Trophy

Ibrox club warm up for new season with second win in France
Jermain Defoe a goal in Rangers' 2-0 win over Nice in Lyon.Jermain Defoe a goal in Rangers' 2-0 win over Nice in Lyon.
Jermain Defoe a goal in Rangers' 2-0 win over Nice in Lyon.

Rangers clinched the Veolia Trophy after Jermain Defoe's goal sent them on their way to a 2-0 victory over Nice.

Defoe finished off a counter-attack five minutes before the break and substitute Jamie Barjonas netted deep into stoppage time.

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Despite the pre-season tournament being billed as a closed-doors event, a small group of Rangers fans celebrated their side's second win inside the Groupama Stadium as they sealed the silverware before hosts Lyon faced Celtic later on Saturday.

Jermain Defoe vies with Nice midfielder Remi Mestrallet.Jermain Defoe vies with Nice midfielder Remi Mestrallet.
Jermain Defoe vies with Nice midfielder Remi Mestrallet.

Steven Gerrard, who was up against old midfield foe Patrick Vieira in the dugout, brought in Allan McGregor, Glen Kamara and Defoe following the midweek win over Lyon.

Rangers dominated the first half against a youthful Nice starting line-up with Connor Goldson heading over early on and Ianis Hagi twice being denied.

Defoe netted with a left-foot finish from 15 yards after being set up by Ryan Kent after Joe Aribo had won the ball inside his own half and set Rangers away on the break.

Nice created three decent chances around the hour mark, when Gerrard brought on Steven Davis, Calvin Bassey, Scott Arfield and Jamie Murphy. McGregor made one decent stop and George Edmundson made up for a slack pass by diverting a shot just wide.

Rangers could have added to their lead as Kent forced a stop from long range and Murphy had a shot cleared off the line after rounding the goalkeeper.

And Barjonas latched on to a throw-in to expose some slack marking and finish with an angled strike.

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