'Truly astonishing' - TalkSPORT pundit changes tune after stunning Rangers win vs Royal Antwerp

TalkSPORT pundit Jason Cundy has heaped praise on Rangers following their dramatic Europa League win over Royal Antwerp on Thursday evening.
Steven Gerrard, Manager of Rangers. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)Steven Gerrard, Manager of Rangers. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Steven Gerrard, Manager of Rangers. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The Gers left it late to beat the Belgian outfit, scoring twice in the last 10 minutes to secure a valuable 4-3 away victory, and to take a slender advantage into the second leg of the tie at Ibrox.

Steven Gerrard’s had taken the lead through a Joe Aribo strike before Antwerp hit back to go in 2-1 up at the break thanks in part to a contentious penalty awarded deep into added time at the end of the first half.

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Rangers equalised through a spot kick of their own, converted by Borna Barisic, but looked to be in real danger after Antwerp once again went ahead with a little over 20 minutes to player.

The Scottish Premiership leaders were not to be beaten, however, and a late strike from Ryan Kent, followed by another last minuted penalty from Barisic, was enough to wrap up the win.

Reflecting on the performance on talkSPORT, Cundy was quick to herald the Gers’ battling spirit.

He said: “Their performances, and not just in Scotland, but their performances in Europe, have been astonishing – truly astonishing.

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"They conceded the penalty just at half-time. I mean, it’s one of the weakest penalties you will ever see, but in the modern game now, any contact on the ankle and they’re just going to go down.

“But it’s another brilliant result, and the English clubs will be looking at them and thinking, ‘I would rather avoid them right now’.

“I would love to see Rangers come up against a Premier League side, and I’d love to see them knock them out”.

Cundy’s praise is a far cry from some of his previous comments on the Scottish game.

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The former Chelsea defender heavily criticised the Scottish Premiership in 2017, claiming that it was “shocking”, “embarrassing”, and “appalling”.

The pundit also made headlines in the same year when he argued that Celtic were a small club because they had fewer followers on their official Twitter account than Stoke City.

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