Rio Ferdinand seethes as Rangers 'get away with one' vs Man Utd but young Bears leave him impressed – VIP pundits react
Rio Ferdinand insists Rangers "got away with one" in the first half of their Old Trafford showdown.
Philippe Clement's side started their Europa League clash with Man United brightly and should have gone ahead through Hamza Igamane early on. But they were breathing a sigh of relief after Matthijs De Ligt headed home from a corner, only for the ref to blow up for a foul on Robin Propper. Belgian whistler Erik Lambrechts spotted Leny Yoro's apparent shove on the Gers defender and blew up while former Juve De Ligt defender was off celebrating.
Replays showed that Yoro did have a hand on his compatriot's back, but it didn't take much in the way of force for Propper to hit the deck. And United icon Ferdinand felt his former side should have been a goal to the good. When asked if Clement's team had gotten away with one, he replied: "Yes, in all honesty.
READ MORE: Who can Rangers face in the Europa League knockout rounds? Potential opponents and fixture dates
"I know Alan [Hutton] won't thank me for saying it, but I thought it was very soft. Leny Yoro kind of does run into Propper, but I don't think there's enough contact to warrant a foul.
"It's a good header initially, but you see just a slight touch from Yoro and then he goes over too easy in my opinion. Just a little nudge, nothing crazy. It's a very good header and I think that should stand. 100 per cent, and I won't change my mind seeing the pictures."
And as much as Alan Hutton was keen to give HIS former side the benefit of the doubt, he was forced to agree. He said: "I've not got my Rangers hat on - I'm on the fence here! It shouldn't have been a foul. I think it's very soft so yeah, got away with one."
Ally McCoist on co-commentary duty was a little kinder to Gers as he backed the officials, saying: "It might be a bit soft. Once the referee gives it, he is not going to change it."
Steven Thompson was not so forgiving on BBC Scotland. He said: "If you're a Man United supporter, you're going to be raging with that. There wasn't enough in it to put Propper on the ground.."
As for the rest of the game, Rangers thought they'd salvaged a point thanks to a fantastic Cyriel Dessers strike. But Bruno Fernandes popped up in stoppage time to snatch it away.
However, Hutton saw plenty of positives from the Light Blues. He added: "I think they'll be proud of their performance. It's been difficult for Rangers away from home. They've dropped 20 points and only three victories. To come to Old Trafford with everything on the line and play like that, you have to build on that. Take the confidence into the next game."
Ferdinand was also impressed. He said: "I thought they were good in and out of possession, they were very structured and were hard to play against. It was only when Man Utd sped it up and the quality of the play jumped a couple of notches that they got through them. But for a young team to conduct themselves and play the way they did, they have to take huge credit for that."
