Yahoo Sport 
Cyriel Dessers rescues Rangers as Jekyll & Hyde striker salvages precious Europa League point – 5 talking points
Jekyll and Hyde Cyriel Dessers was the hero for Rangers as the striker grabbed a precious equaliser in the 1-1 draw with Olympiacos in Greece.
Philippe Clement’s side were up against it after conceding a second half goal to striker Ayoub El Kaabi – a fourth in four Europa League games for the Moroccan – but Dessers grabbed a fine deserved leveller to make it seven points from four games as they look to at least book a playoff spot. The visitors coped well with the conditions – namely the atmosphere inside the cauldron of the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium – and even carved out the first best chance of the game.
Vaclav Cerny did brilliantly down the right hand side before cutting the ball back for Dessers but the striker fired straight at Konstantinos Tzolakis. Cerny, who netted a double in the win over Steaua Bucharest in the last Europa League game, justified Olympiacos boss Jose Luis Mendilibar picking him out as the Gers danger man and the Czech stung the palms of Tzolakis with a long range effort.
READ MORE:Philippe Clement declares Rangers believe in miracles as he eyes Man Utd and Tottenham shocks
Rangers looked the more threatening in the first half with Jack Butland rarely called into action but sloppy play gifted the Greeks a chance on the counter but luckily for the visitors they weren’t punished as ex Portugal international Gelson Martins fired into the side netting from a good position.
Clement would have been happy with the first 45 minutes but found themselves behind just 10 minutes after the restart as the Greeks took the lead in some style, albeit it was poor defending as El Kaabi was given far too much space and he rifled high into the net beyond Butland.
That goal came moments after Clement made a surprise defensive change with Dujon Sterling - picked ahead of skipper James Tavernier - replaced by Neraysho Kasanwirjo and the Dutchman flashed an effort just past the post.
But Rangers did get back on level terms and given how the game had gone it was from an unlikely source. Cerny did brilliantly with a throughball to pick out Dessers and he showed great composure to sell the defender a dummy before firing low into the net. Here's five talking points from Piraeus...
Nice one Cyriel… eventually
Dessers was his usual frustrating self and had fans pulling their hair out before the enigmatic striker popped up with a quite brilliant equaliser after a rare moment of composure. You can’t argue with his strike rate but it’s the inconsistency which was summed up with the contrast of his miss early in the game when he fired straight at the keeper from Cerny’s intelligent cut back.
Danilo replaced Cyriel Dessers during Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup semi final and the fit-again Brazilian is an obvious replacement for his misfiring strike rival now that’s available again. The problem for this trip is that the ex Feyenoord man wasn’t included in the squad submitted to UEFA due to his tidy-up operation and that meant Clement had no option but to go with Dessers and paid off in the end, albeit he should have more than just his one goal.
Heat off for for now
It’s ironic that Philippe Clement went to stifling Athens as he continued to take a bit of the heat off him. Since the pressure was cranked right up on the Belgian he has secured a Cup final place next month and picked up a credible draw on the road in the Europa League. But he’s still going on a game by game basis and he must get a victory against Hearts to at least allow him to go into the international break to regroup as anything other than a win over the Jambos and it will blow up again.
Huge captain call
Tavernier was dropped for the recent Premiership match against St Mirren and was benched again for this trip to Greece - after starting 36 consecutive European games for Rangers - with Sterling coming in but he was replaced by Neraysho Kasanwirjo. It’s a call many fans have been urging Philippe Clement - and previous managers - to make and the Belgian was bold in making it. As the 33-year-old heads towards celebrating a decade at Ibrox, the clock is ticking and it’s now a question of how big a part he will play in his remaining months in Govan.
Daunting run
Rangers face Nice next before back to back matches against English Premier League opponents in their next three games in the Europa League and the odds will be against them picking up any points when they jet out to France in three weeks before Tottenham Hotspur head to Ibrox then a trip to Old Trafford, by which time Ruben Amorim will be in the Manchester United hot-seat, early next year. Unless they can pick anything up from those matches it will set up a huge final fixture against Union Saint-Gilloise at home in their bid to progress.
He Neds to do better
Nedim Bajrami was the Hampden hero on Sunday with the winner against Motherwell to take Rangers into the Premier Sports Cup final next month. The Light Blues spent £3.4 million to sign the Albanian on deadline day and given the club’s current finances, that’s a significant outlay.
And at times his quality has shown - his winner against Well and goal in the defeat to Aberdeen - but the former Sassuolo man was really off it here. He was careless in possession and far too many moves broke down with the wide man.
