Tam McManus hails Rangers attacker Florian Kamberi for Europa League display

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Tam McManus gave Rangers attacker Florian Kamberi credit for his performance from the bench on Thursday night, as he delivered a bright cameo in the second-half in the defeat to Bayer Leverkusen.

Steven Gerrard’s side suffered a 3-1 home loss at Ibrox against the German opposition, which leaves them in a fragile position against them after the first leg of their Europa League last 16 fixture.

Kai Havertz converted a penalty in the first-half to give the visitors an advantage in the tie, before Charles Aranguiz doubled that with his goal.

The Scottish club did pull one goal back through George Edmundson’s powerful header, but Leon Bailey’s 88th minute strike for Leverkusen gave them a third away goal and it means they surely have one foot in the quarter-finals of the European competition despite the second leg.

Ex-Hibernian forward McManus, who now works as a pundit BBC Sport, delivered a glowing verdict on Twitter about Kamberi despite the fact he ended up on the losing side.

The Albanian forward entered the action in the 53rd minute and injected some extra urgency in a much stronger second-half performance from the Gers, where they at least looked more on the front foot and asked some questions of their own.

McManus has posed the question over whether or not the 25-year-old should come into the side for Sunday’s Old Firm showdown against rivals Celtic in the league.

TBR’s View:

Kamberi wasn’t expected to make a big impact following his January switch on loan from Hibs for the rest of the season, but he’s looked a bright spark in his eight Rangers appearances so far and once again made a good impression on the European stage.

With Alfredo Morelos really struggling to hit any kind of form at striker, it would be no surprise to see plenty of people ask about Kamberi starting above him in the Old Firm fixture.

All eyes will be on manager Gerrard to see what kind of team he selects for the league in-between the two European fixtures and it could make sense to bring in a much fresher Kamberi, who will run the channels and looks like he’s got a point to prove at Ibrox.