Rangers 0-1 Genk: Player ratings + talking points as ex Celtic foe haunts ragged 10-man Gers on grim Euro night
How we rated the Rangers players in their 1-0 Europa League defeat to Belgian side KRC Genk at Ibrox
Rangers may be amidst the worst start to a domestic season since 1978 - but a return to the Europa League presented boss Russell Martin with a chance to take another positive step towards lifting some of the tension surrounding his position.
Victory over Hibs in the League Cup last Saturday handed the under-fire Englishman a brief reprieve and some much-needed breathing space. Now it was all about backing that result up with a victory over Belgian strugglers KRC Genk in their opening league phase encounter.
The start to Martin’s Ibrox reign has been met with serious opposition from the stands, with fans already demanding change by staging protests against the head coach and CEO Patrick Stewart.
Behind the scenes, the club’s new American owners have stood by their man, despite their worst league start for almost half a century. Tonight, Europe became the main focus for Martin and players in a competition the club have enjoyed great success in in recent years.
The Light Blues have fond memories of reaching the final back in 2022 and got as far as the last eight of the tournament last season, proving more than a match for some of the continental giants.
On paper the draw looked to have been kind to the Gers, with opponents Genk also toiling on the domestic front. Sitting 14th in the 16-team division with just two wins from eight outings, the visitors arrived in Glasgow still seeking a first clean sheet of the campaign.
Contrastingly, they had only failed to score once in their last 10 matches. They clinched a 6-3 aggregate success over Lech Poznan in the play-off round to reach this stage and were aiming to pile further misery on Martin’s revamped side.
The man spearheading Genk’s attack - former Celtic striker Oh Hyeon-gyu - with Scotland’s recent Greek tormentor Konstantinos Karetsas offering a threat off the bench.
Martin knew any kind of slip up and the heat would be firmly back on his shoulders again. Despite their bruising defeat to Club Brugge in Champions League qualifying, Rangers’ record against Belgian opposition still made for impressive reading - 10 wins from 15 games.
Ahead of kick-off, Ibrox was lacking the usual buzz in the lead up to a European fixture. Perhaps indicative of the club’s current situation. There were plenty of empty seats once more and the atmosphere lacked the electric feel supporters have been well accustomed to on Thursday nights.
While Genk were nowhere near the same quality of Brugge, they still posed a danger to a fragile Gers’ team and looked quicker and sharper out the blocks. Wing-back Zakaria El Ouahdi was first to threaten, getting in behind Brentford loanee Jayden Meghoma twice inside the opening 10 minutes.
Following a sluggish start, Rangers gradually began to find their feet with Mikey Moore firing over the crossbar from 20-yards before the on-loan Tottenham wide man scuffed another effort wide of the target moments later when he should’ve elected to pick out a team-mate instead.
Then followed a remarkable and acrobatic goal line clearance from Genk skipper Bryan Heynen to deny centre-back John Souttar after he rose highest to meet a teasing James Tavernier free-kick.
The drama continued when visiting striker Oh somehow failed to break the deadlock with a first-time shot from El Ouahdi’s low cross, with the former Hoops man skiing his effort over the top with the goal at his mercy.
Another let-off for Rangers and Jack Butland was left breathing a sigh of relief on 23 minutes when Patrik Hrosovsky’s powerful drive struck the woodwork. The warning signs were there for all to see.
At the opposite end, £8 million recruit Youssef Chermiti was starved of service and seeing very little of the ball on his European debut.
Rangers had a strong penalty appeal for handball turned down and matters went from bad to worse for the hosts when Mohamed Diomande was shown a straight red card for a wild and unnecessary challenge on El Ouahdi near the halfway line.
The Ivorian midfielder could have no complaints about the decision having caught his opponent high on the shin. And a further sucker-punch almost followed on the stroke of half-time when Genk were awarded a spot-kick.
Tavernier was adjudged to have clipped the heels of Yaimar Medina just inside the box and after a VAR check, the Slovenian referee gave the penalty despite the contact appearing relatively minimal.
However, Butland came to Rangers rescue again, making a spectacular save down to his right to prevent Oh from scoring at a venue he dreamed of, having failed to do so in six previous attempts as a Celtic player. On another day, he could easily have been celebrating a first-half hat-trick.
That proved to be the final act of a hugely eventful opening 45 minutes. Rangers were lacking invention in attack and switching off defensively. A recipe for disaster and Diomande’s dismissal left Martin facing a huge team talk and with more questions to answer.
Oliver Antman replaced Mikey Moore at the start of the second half, but it was the visitors who looked more likely to open the scoring. And they did just that through Oh after 55 minutes following a sustained spell of pressure.
The South Korean international had been enduring an incredibly frustrating night up until that point, but he made no mistake on this occasion after being played clean through on goal. Despite taking a poor first touch, he still had time to recycle the ball and shift it onto his left-foot before firing low beyond Butland into the bottom corner.
A booking followed for the 24-year-old as he wheeled away in celebration by taking his shirt off and parading it in front of a now extremely subdued Ibrox crowd.
As the clock ticked down, you could sense there was a real lack of belief among supporters in the stadium that Rangers could turn the tie around. Djeidi Gassama came close to an equaliser after cutting inside before flashing a shot narrowly wide.
Oh thought he had notched his second of the game with 20 minutes remaining after sliding home from close range, but the frontman was deemed to have strayed into an offside position and the goal was chalked off.
This was fast developing into a hard watch for supporters who had opted against heading for the exits. Rangers had simply ran out of ideas, despite Martin making a late triple change. A chorus of boos met the full-time whistle and the scrutiny will now only intensify further on Martin’s shoulders.
Here, GlasgowWorld breaks down three main talking points from the 90 minutes and how the Rangers players fared:
Gers make Genk look like world beaters
The Belgians oozed confidence and were made to look a far better team than they actually are by Martin’s men. In truth, Rangers were fortunate to go in at half-time on level terms.
Genk looked comfortable and carried far more of a threat in the final third. They’d struck the post, missed a penalty and has passed up several opportunities. It felt only a matter of time before they landed a body blow and it arrived ten minutes into the second half.
Miserable Meghoma has night to forget
By all accounts, Jayden Meghoma has looked one of Rangers’ better signings so far this season, albeit he is only on loan from Premier League side Brentford. However, this was by far his worst performance in a Gers shirt to date.
He lacked any sort of defensive discipline in the first-half and his positioning was all over the place. He could easily have cost Rangers two goals in the early stages. Zakaria El Ouahdi had him on toast, exploiting space in behind the full-back with ease.
Diomande lets his team-mates down
There was absolutely no need for Mohamed Diomande to commit to the reckless challenge that earned him an early bath. His opponent was going nowhere and his late lunge was just downright stupidity.
It’s not the first time the midfielder has landed himself in hot water with officials. He left Rangers a man short at a crucial time in the match and cost his team-mates dearly.
GK - Jack Butland (7/10)
RB - James Tavernier (4/10)
LCB - Derek Cornelius (5/10)
CM - Nicolas Raskin (4/10)
CM - Mohamed Diomande (3/10)
CAM - Thelo Aasgaard (4/10)
LCF - Djeidi Gassama (5/10)
RCF - Mikey Moore (4/10)
CF - Youssef Chermiti (4/10)