Add as preferred source on Google

Rangers boss Steven Gerrard praised forward Kemar Roofe after his impressive performance on Thursday night in the Europa League group stages.

The Gers picked up a decent point at home to strong opposition Benfica in a 2-2 draw, albeit they will leave with some disappointment after allowing a two-goal lead to slip in the closing stages.

Scott Arfield put the Scottish giants ahead within seven minutes with his goal, while 27-year-old Roofe doubled the advantage midway through the second-half with his stunning effort from the edge of the box that fired into the top of the net.

But Benfica responded a late comeback at Ibrox due to a James Tavernier own goal and also a composed finish from Pizzi.

Rangers missed out on the chance to secure qualification to the knockout rounds, but still have two matches left to try achieve that goal and they remain top of the group to continue what’s been an impressive European campaign so far for them.

Gerrard singled out Roofe for special praise after his contribution and is delighted to see him playing regularly:

“His song is that he is on fire, and at the moment, he is certainly catching fire – he is injury free, he is training and he is repeating games,” Gerrard said, as quoted by the club’s official website.

“He’s smiling and he’s enjoying it – he has played a few on the spin now after a couple of injuries so I will probably need to look after him at some point, but we are really pleased where he is at and we need to keep him fit and healthy as he is going to be a big help to us going forward.”

TBR’s View:

Roofe’s season has been disrupted so far by injury, which is why Rangers fans may not have seen the best of him yet.

But the attacker has had a run of games recently to really find his feet and he’s now got seven goals in 12 appearances across all competitions.

His header was saved in the build up for the opening Rangers goal and he hammered in the second to prove what an attacking threat he can be, plus it looks like he could build up a decent combination with teammate Alfredo Morelos.