IANIS HAGI hopes he made father Gheorghe proud as he inspired Rangers to a stunning Europa League comeback at Ibrox.
The Romanian produced two moments of magic to haul Steven Gerrard’s side to a 3-2 victory that gives them a real chance of reaching the last 16 of the competition.
Rangers were facing an uphill task when Braga moved into a 2-0 lead as the visitors produced an accomplished performance for the first hour at Ibrox.
But Hagi’s powerful low finish sparked a remarkable comeback as Rangers turned the table on Braga and continued Gerrard’s superb record in continental competition.
Joe Aribo scored a magnificent solo effort as he waltzed through the Braga defence and finished well to pull the Light Blues level.
And it was left to Hagi to complete the comeback as his free-kick deflected off the Braga wall and into the net as Ibrox roared in celebration.
Hagi said: “It was for nights like this I joined Rangers. My whole family were here so it’s amazing. It’s the first time they came here and I’m really proud they were in the stand.
“I’m really happy and I guess I made them proud.
“I’m just doing my job. Every single time I go on the field I know what my job is. I have to assist, create and score. That’s my job and doesn’t change if we are winning, losing or drawing.
“It’s an important victory but it’s still only the first leg so we have to think about St Johnstone on Sunday. We play every three days so we don’t have time to dwell on any game.
“We just have to move onto the next game and we also have to play the second leg so nothing is done yet. But we are confident we can score over there and progress.
“The first was 50-50 even though they were 2-0 up. We had our chances and missed them.
“They had their chances and scored so that was the difference but both teams had opportunities.
“We raised our level in the second half and scored with our chances. It’s 50-50, it’s still open, as the second leg is away from home so it will be an open game for sure.
“I spoke with my father before the match and he gave me some words of encouragement.
“We always speak before matches as he helps me every time.”
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