Djeidi Gassama fights, Russell Martin unhealthily stubborn – 5 things we learned from Rangers loss v Club Brugge
Rangers were torn apart by Club Brugge 3-1 as their Champions League campaign now hangs by a thread ahead of the second leg in Belgium.
A painful night in Glasgow as the Gers were completely blown away by the Belgian side in the Champions League first leg.
A mix-up between Nasser Djiga and Jack Butland gave Romeo Vermant an easy dink as the Glaswegian side fell 3-0 down in 20 minutes.
No changes at the break saw the Teddy Bears come out fighting as Russell Martin stuck by his team selection, yet a Danilo constellation goal wasn’t enough.
A shocking defeat for the former Southampton manager’s side as we dive into what we learnt from a messy Tuesday night in Europe.
Zonal marking is not the way forward for Rangers
The Belgian side’s second goal showed that zonal marking is almost certainly the worst way to defend corners if your opposition do not play the ball into the desired area you want to defend.
Crystal Palace target Christos Tzolis whipped the ball to the penalty spot, completely evading all the Gers players clumped together around Butland.
It was an easy swipe from Jorne Spileers and highlighted a major flaw in the defensive system of Martin, he needs to rethink this approach to corners going forward.
Nasser Djiga seriously needs to work on his communication skills with Jack Butland
The biggest talking point of the match, no one quite knows what happened between the Burkinabe and the Englishman.
The Wolves loanee completely misjudged his keeper’s intentions as the two centre-backs parted like the Red Sea, allowing Vermant to cruise through to lob the former Stoke shot-stopper.
Djiga has struggled so far to adapt to life in Scotland, but he needs to work intently on being a loud presence from the back to avoid another horror show moment again.
Rangers nowhere near Champions League quality
As an avid fan of the Premier League, when the Glaswegian side appointed Martin after his catastrophic spell at Southampton in the English top-flight, I was a bit concerned for Rangers.
Having failed to win a single game in the league so far, was it surprising to see that the Gers are not even close to being a Champions League challenging side?
Brugge are one of the best sides in Belgium and they made the Bears look worryingly average as they head to northern Europe to face a likely exit from the competition.
| Rangers v Club Brugge (19 August) | |
| Possession % | 53% |
| Total shots | 14 |
| Big chances | 1 |
| Saves | 4 |
| Corners | 9 |
| Fouls | 11 |
| Goals conceded | 3 |
Djeidi Gassama the beacon of light for Rangers
The Frenchman continues to be the darling of the Ibrox who, even being down 3-0 at one point in the tie, always remained positive and forward-thinking.
Djeidi Gassama had a potential second goal for the Gers chalked off after Simon Mignolet was adjudged to have two hands on the ball.
I felt this was a harsh decision and an unfortunate one for the left-winger who could very well end up winning the Rangers Player of the Year at the end of the campaign.
Russell Martin’s stubbornness to be the downfall of his managerial spell in Scotland
After being pumped silly by the Belgian side on their own home turf in the first 45 minutes, I was expecting wholesale changes at half-time.
Whilst his side certainly responded to an imaginable blasting in the changing rooms, there were some questionable performers who should have been hooked earlier in the game.
If the likes of Max Aarons, Djiga and Oliver Antman were substituted at the break, it may have given the Light Blues more of a chance to turn the tie around.
By sticking to his principles, the former Southampton manager could very well be undermining potential opportunities to revive games when they are not going his way, possibly resulting in him becoming an unpopular man in Glasgow.