Steven Davis insists Rangers are in 'fantastic position' in Europa League despite feeling 'raw' after Benfica draw

Rangers midfielder Steven Davis admits the manner of the 3-3 draw against Benfica at the Stadium of Light on Thursday has left the Ibrox squad feeling ‘a bit raw’.

Steven Davis joins the celebrations after Glen Kamara had scored Rangers' second goal in their thrilling 3-3 draw against Benfica in Lisbon on Thursday evening. (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images)

But the Northern Ireland international believes it will still be regarded as a positive outcome for Steven Gerrard’s side when the dust settles and they reflect on their standing at the halfway point of their Europa League Group D campaign.

Rangers were leading 3-1 against a Benfica side who played with 10 men for over 70 minutes after the early dismissal of former Manchester City defender Nicolas Otamendi. The Portuguese giants hit back with two late goals, the equaliser coming in stoppage time, to avoid a first ever home defeat in the Europa League.

Benfica and Rangers now both have seven points, four points clear of third-placed Lech Poznan who beat still pointless Standard Liege 3-1 in Poland. Rangers welcome Benfica to Ibrox on November 26 then have another home game against Standard on December 3 before finishing off the group in Poznan on December 10.

“It’s a fantastic position to be in with seven points from the first three games,” said Davis. “We would certainly have taken that at the start of the campaign.

“We have three more games to look forward to, two of them at home, so we hope to continue what we have started.

“Immediately after the game, we are disappointed because of the position we got ourselves into.

“It’s still a bit raw, we feel we should have seen the game through. But once we sit back from it, there are definitely a lot of positives to take.”

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