Youssef Chermiti terrible, 25-yr-old should have started – Three Rangers decisions Danny Rohl got wrong vs Brann
Rangers suffered a 3-0 loss to Brann in the Europa League on Thursday as Danny Rohl’s first game in charge of the club ended in defeat.
Rohl was hired as Rangers’ new manager earlier in the week as their search for a new boss finally came to an end after Russell Martin had been sacked in early October.
The German boss got a taste of just big a task he faces with the Gers as they were well beaten in Norway to slip to their third loss in as many Europa League games this season.
Emil Kornvig opened the scoring for the hosts just before the interval, while Jacob Lungi Sorensen and Noah Holm put the game beyond doubt in the second-half as Rangers looked all over the place in defence.
Rohl will have learnt a lot from his first match at the helm, and Football Insider have picked out three things that he got wrong during this debut loss.
Youssef Chermiti should have been taken off a lot earlier
Youssef Chermiti has been out-of-form since he joined Rangers in the summer, but Rohl chose to start him at centre-forward in this game and he continued his poor start to life with the Glasgow giants in Norway.
The 21-year-old had just one shot on goal, lost the most duels of any player on the pitch (9), had 50% pass accuracy and just one singular touch in Brann’s penalty area [Fotmob].
He was eventually taken off in the 76th minute to make way for Danilo in attack, and was very lucky to have even stayed on that long after another completely ineffective showing.
Max Aarons should have started at left-back over Jayden Meghoma
Rohl also handed Jayden Meghoma, who joined Rangers on loan from Brentford in the summer, a start at left-back, and he will have regretted that choice following his own poor performance.
He is clearly an inexperienced player at just 19-years-old, especially in Europe, and that showed against Brann as he struggled to make an impact in an attacking sense and was unable to contain the hosts’ attacks down his flank.
Meghoma lost sight of former Norwich man Sorensen as he headed home for Brann’s second goal from a free-kick, and Rohl should have given Max Aarons the chance to impress from the off instead.
Aarons is more experienced with nearly 100 Premier League appearances at 25-years-old, can play at left-back despite naturally being a right-back, and deserved some minutes after sitting out of the club’s last two games.
Rangers needed to set up in a back-five to stay more resolute in defence
Rangers’ defensive record has been shockingly bad so far this season, but Rohl’s formation and tactics did not do anything to help that as he started four defenders, with James Tavernier and Meghoma both wanting to get forward, and two number eights in midfield.
They looked open all night, as a result, with Joe Rothwell and Nico Raskin unable to protect the back four and John Souttar and Nasser Djiga each struggling to defend the penalty area and making rash challenges.
The Gers have conceded in all nine of their away games in all competitions so far in 2025-26, and while the other eight games were before he arrived, Rohl’s set-up did not help them end that unwanted record against their Norwegian opponents on Thursday (23 October).
Instead, he should have either started with five in defence, with Derek Cornelius coming in as a third centre-back, or at least should have switched to such a formation mid-game to help stem the flow of numerous Brann attacks.