Why Giovanni van Bronckhorst was so pleased with Rangers' 1-1 draw in Lyon

Giovanni van Bronckhorst hailed a “brave” performance from his Rangers side as they concluded their Europa League group campaign with an impressive draw in Lyon.
Rangers defender Calvin Bassey challenges Lyon forward Moussa Dembele (Photo by JEFF PACHOUD/AFP via Getty Images)Rangers defender Calvin Bassey challenges Lyon forward Moussa Dembele (Photo by JEFF PACHOUD/AFP via Getty Images)
Rangers defender Calvin Bassey challenges Lyon forward Moussa Dembele (Photo by JEFF PACHOUD/AFP via Getty Images)

The Light Blues earned a point as Scott Wright’s deflected opener late in the first half was cancelled out by a Calvin Bassey own goal early in the second.

Van Bronckhorst was pleased with how his team - which contained six changes - performed against the Ligue 1 big guns as he maintained his unbeaten record since taking over from Steven Gerrard.

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“I’m very happy with the message we showed as a team," he said. "We came not to defend but to play our game and develop our team.

“It’s only my fifth game in charge with this team so I’m happy they are picking up my style of play and in that aspect I’m very happy the performance.

“We’re very happy with the performance, especially away from home in Europe which can be very tough.

“We faced a tough opponent but we were very brave. We liked to play a possession game from the back and many times we had the right solutions and overall I’m really happy.

“We were dominant at times but in the second half didn’t create so many chances in the end with dangerous crosses but Lyon had some chances.

“We are flying straight back to Scotland and only have two days to prepare for the game but we’re used to it.

“The last games were followed by only two days of rest so we’ll do everything we can. Friday will be recovery and Saturday we will prepare tactically for Hearts."

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