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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Aidan Smith

Unseen John Souttar Rangers vs Real Betis moment encapsulates epic Ibrox team spirit

John Souttar may have not featured for Rangers against Real Betis last night, but his manager Philippe Clement has hailed his huge performance off the pitch.

The Ibrox outfit secured their place in the last 16 of the Europa League thanks to an epic 3-2 victory over their Spanish opponents in Seville.

Kemar Roofe bagged the Rangers winner after Abdallah Sima and Cyriel Dessers had previously bagged goals, and the club are now in line for a huge European windfall as a result of their exploits.

Defender Souttar was an unused substitute during the Europa League clash and his boss Clement has revealed his special team spirit that was on show from the touchline.

The Belgian explained:  "I saw John Souttar being the biggest fan in the stadium on the bench for the other guys. That's the mentality I want to see. If you do that all season, we'll win trophies."

He continued: “It’s an amazing evening. I am really proud of the boys, they way they stuck together, the way they were brave. The things I asked – to be brave, to go with our football, create chances, score good goals, and a real top team mentality.

“That’s what we need to build on over the next couple of months. If they stick together like this every three days, you always have an amazing season.”

It was Rangers’ first away victory against Spanish opposition.

Clement said: “This is a big reference and statement also, for them and the outside, that if everyone is into the story and working hard, we are a really hard team to beat, even for top-class teams like Betis, who are in really good form and played a really good game against Real Madrid last week and could have won.

“It was the first loss in their home stadium this season. And it was also a game we had to win, a lot of pressure and the players dealt really well with it.”

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