Rangers 4 - 0 Marseille: Daniel Candeias gives perfect response

Daniel Candeias provided the perfect riposte to his omission from Rangers’ initial Europa League squad as he struck twice in a friendly rout of Marseille.
Daniel Candeias celebrates his second goal against Marseille at Ibrox. Picture: SNSDaniel Candeias celebrates his second goal against Marseille at Ibrox. Picture: SNS
Daniel Candeias celebrates his second goal against Marseille at Ibrox. Picture: SNS

But the Portuguese winger has been warned by manager Steven Gerrard that he needs to find greater consistency in order to sustain his status as a first-team regular.

Candeias was left out of Gerrard’s 22-man squad for their opening Europa League qualifier against St Joseph’s and faces fresh competition for his place this season from summer signings Sheyi Ojo and Greg Stewart.

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He plundered two fine first-half goals against a disjointed and disappointing Marseille side as Rangers maintained their early season momentum, added to by second half strikes from Connor Goldson and Jermain Defoe.

“Daniel was outstanding for the 45 minutes he was on the pitch,” said Gerrard, right. “That’s not a surprise. I have been around Daniel for 12 months now. I wish I’d seen more of that on a consistent basis. That’s probably the best 45 minutes I’ve seen from him. You have to take into account it was a pre-season friendly.

People are going to be upset and disappointed when they are left out of squads. Of course, you expect them to be professional and give you the right reaction. Daniel is a great professional, he is in first every morning. He is robust and always available.

“He had a decent season last year. He scored a handful of goals and provided a handful of assists. But I’m always trying to raise the bar. I’m looking for players in those positions to get double figures in terms of those numbers.”

As friendly fare goes, it was a relatively entertaining spectacle. The greater sharpness and intensity of Rangers’ play throughout was evidence of Gerrard’s men being deeper into their preparations for the season than Marseille.

The sense of purpose the home side conveyed would have gratified the manager, who knows how imperative it is to hit the ground running in both the Europa League qualifiers and Premiership over the coming weeks.

Alfredo Morelos set the tone for a vibrant first 45 minutes in which the double from Candeias put Rangers in control. The Colombian striker unsettled the Marseille defence from the opening moments, firing a snapshot narrowly wide and flashing another effort across the face of goal.

It was as provider that Rangers’ top scorer from last season ensured they made the breakthrough in the 17th minute. Morelos calmly laid a pass into the path of Candeias who rifled a ferocious right-foot shot beyond Steve Mandanda from around 16 yards.

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Marseille’s efforts to find any rhythm were not helped by the loss of key midfielder Florian Thauvin midway through the first half. The French World Cup winner jarred his right ankle badly and was in some distress as he limped off, receiving sympathetic applause from the home fans.

Rangers remained largely untroubled at the back, where new boy George Edmundson looked assured, and continued to control the tempo in midfield, where the footwork of Joe Aribo, another summer recruit, caught the eye.

Marseille finally posed a threat to Allan McGregor’s goal eight minutes before the interval, the Rangers ‘keeper relieved to see Dimitri Payet’s fizzing shot fly narrowly wide of his left-hand post after the former West Ham wide man cut in from the left.

But Rangers were quickly back on the front foot, Jordan Jones forcing a smart save from Mandanda with a volley from Ryan Jack’s cross, before Candeias doubled their lead two minutes from the break.

Marseille were caught flat-footed by Jack’s clever lofted through ball which Candeias controlled brilliantly with a sublime first touch before stabbing a low shot beyond Mandanda.

The customary raft of substitutions from both teams in these fixtures – Rangers made five at half-time alone – did not significantly alter the pattern of play as Gerrard’s reshuffled side continued to dominate.

They made it 3-0 in the 62nd minute when Nikola Katic, an interval replacement for Edmundson, rose to meet a Jones corner. The big Croat wheeled away to claim the goal but it appeared that Goldson had got the final touch to force the ball over the line.

Candeias had made way for Ojo and the Liverpool loanee was quick to enhance the positive early impression he has made at Rangers. He earned warm applause for a cute piece of skill on the right which completely wrong-footed the Marseille defence, allowing him time and space to whip over a cross which Jermain Defoe stopped to head powerfully home from close range.