Rabbi Matondo grabbed his chance at Tynecastle and the Rangers winger believes the Light Blues can take theirs at Anfield.
Welshman Matondo has had to bide his time since joining Gio van Bronckorst’s squad from Schalke over the summer. But the £2.5million signing produced another assist as Gers romped to a 4-0 win over Hearts at Gorgie as he came in for his first Premiership start since Rangers’ last visit to the capital against Hibs on August 20.
And Matondo, 22, reckons the ruthless victory is just what van Bronckhorst’s team needed as they shape up for Liverpool tomorrow night. He said: “This is what you work hard for - to try and play. That hasn’t been the case this last few weeks, but that is football and you have to be ready when the chance comes. I felt ready and it was good to be on the pitch and hopefully I will get many more opportunities.
“We know how good we can be. We have been ‘off the races’ in some games, let’s say, but we have so much quality in our team, so much personality and so much passion. This game and this result on Saturday can help us to go on into a tough game against Liverpool on Tuesday.”
Van Bronckhorst has appealed for his new boys to be given time to settle in at Ibrox. But Gers refused to give Hearts a second’s respite in the early stages as they stormed ahead with Antonio Colak’s early header.
Matondo then made his contribution as he burst off the wing to slide Colak through for his second on the half-hour mark. Late goals from Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent sealed a win which keeps Gers on Celtic’s coattails.
“From the get-go, we were top. We pressed high, we worked hard and we took the chances when they came,” Matondo told RTV.
“Overall, it was a good performance from us. We knew it was going to be a tough game and they have started well in their season, so we knew it would be a test for us today but we started the game well and took control of the game.
“When you are coming to a place like this, you want to start bright as you know they are going to come out bright and their fans are going to push them. Getting that first goal early on was very important for us and helped us.”
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