Olayinka bags assist, Aribo and Zungu in action as Rangers hold Slavia Prague

Peter Olayinka provided an assist while Joe Aribo and Bongani Zungu featured as Rangers played out a 1-1 draw against Slavia Prague in the first leg of their Round of 16 clash in the Europa League on Thursday night.

Aribo and Zungu recently helped the Gers secure their 55th Scottish Premiership title last weekend after Celtic’s draw against Dundee United.

Nigeria international Aribo was handed his fifth start in the European competition and gave a good account of himself in the encounter.

His compatriot Leon Balogun was not listed for the outing while Zungu made a cameo appearance as a second-half substitute.

Slavia Prague hit the ground running in the encounter as Nigeria’s Olayinka set up Nicolae Stanciu to open the scoring with a fine strike from outside the box in the seventh minute.

Rangers then levelled proceedings in the 36th minute when Filip Helander found the back of the net after benefitting from Ianis Hagi’s assist.

Seven minutes before the half-time break, Olayinka tried to set up a teammate with a fine header but his pass was intercepted.

After the restart, Rangers pushed for a winning goal and manager Steven Gerrard made a few changes in an effort to secure the victory at Sinobo Stadium.

The English tactician replaced Aribo with Kemar Roofe while South Africa international Zungu was brought on for Glen Kamara in the 88th minute.

Slavia Prague, however, frustrated the Gers' efforts to ensure the scoreline was kept at 1-1 at the end of the encounter.

Olayinka featured for 46 minutes in his 30th appearance for the Red and Whites across all competitions this season before making way for Lukas Masopust.

Aribo has played 33 games for Rangers in the current campaign, scoring seven goals and providing four assists while Zungu has made 19 appearances.

Aribo, Zungu and Olayinka will hope to make key contributions for their respective clubs in the second leg of the Europa game on March 18.

Before the European match, Slavia Prague will take on Mlada Boleslav in a Czech First League game on March 14.