UEFA Europa League: Peter Crouch claims ‘it would have been a travesty’ if Tottenham Hotspur beat ‘fantastic’ Rangers
Published 12/12/2024 at 23:35 GMT
Former Tottenham Hotspur striker and TNT Sports expert Peter Crouch believes that it would have been a "travesty" had his old club beaten Rangers in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday. The Premier League side came from behind to earn a point at Ibrox Stadium against the "fantastic" Scottish outfit. Meanwhile, James Tavernier says Rangers are disappointed to only pick up a point.
'It would've been a travesty' - Crouch says Spurs didn't deserve win at 'fantastic' Rangers
Video credit: TNT Sports
Peter Crouch says that "it would have been a travesty" if Tottenham Hotspur had beaten "fantastic" Rangers in their UEFA Europa League clash on Thursday.
The Scottish side earned a 1-1 draw against their Premier League opponents, with Hamza Igamane’s opener cancelled out by Dejan Kulusevski in a thriller at Ibrox Stadium.
Rangers thought they had won the match in the late stages when Cyriel Dessers converted from point-blank range, but he had made his run too early.
TNT Sports expert Crouch feels that if either side were to claim the win, the hosts would have been more deserving of the points.
"Rangers were fantastic today and if Tottenham had come away and won it, I think it would have been a travesty really," the former Spurs striker told TNT Sports.
"I think in the last 20 minutes Tottenham were in the game, they still could have conceded. First half it was all Rangers, so I think the substitutions helped.
"He [Ange Postecoglou, Spurs manager] was obviously trying to rest players, the players that have been the best all season."
/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2024/12/12/4072001-82577668-2560-1440.png)
Highlights: Kulusevski rescues point for Spurs at fired-up Rangers
Video credit: TNT Sports
Tavernier: Rangers ‘disappointed’ with point
Not only did Crouch feel as though the hosts deserved more than a point, but so did Rangers captain James Tavernier, who admitted that the squad were "disappointed" not to snatch a win against the out-of-form north Londoners.
"We have gone in there disappointed that we have not come away with three points," he told TNT Sports. "We had the chances to finish off the game but Tottenham have got great quality.
"The one moment where we left our positions we got punished for it. We will take a point and it puts us in a good position.
"There has obviously been small tweaks in the last couple of weeks in the formation that we are playing.
"A lot of lads are really in form and I said in the press yesterday that it is important that we keep the consistency in our performances and I felt we did that tonight."
Rangers boss Philippe Clement was in agreement and added: "They took the challenge with both hands and they grabbed it.
"I still believe now we should have won this game, we deserved to win this game, but I think it was a good advertisement for Scottish football and for Rangers.
"We were able to compete against a top Premier League team at full strength, yes they had some injuries but with a lot of quality players on the pitch. Everybody together showed a lot of quality. It is a big step forward."
- - -
TNT Sports will show over 500 matches from the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Conference League across the 2024/25 season. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination.
React to this story
Share this article
Related Topics