Rangers head to Czechia tomorrow with a commanding advantage in their UEFA Champions League third qualifying round tie, but also with a reminder of how quickly momentum can stall.
The first leg at Ibrox was their most complete performance yet under Russell Martin.
A bold team selection, captain James Tavernier and Player of the Year Nico Raskin both dropped, signalled a manager unwilling to compromise. In came Lyall Cameron for a first European start and debutant Oliver Antman on the right wing.
From the outset, Rangers were sharp, balanced, and dangerous. Djeidi Gassama was electric on the left, combining with Cyriel Dessers for a neat opener after 15 minutes.
Dessers added a second from the penalty spot before half-time after Antman’s driving run drew a foul.
Five minutes into the second half, Antman’s pinpoint cross found Gassama for a bullet header to make it 3–0. From there, Martin’s men controlled proceedings with Nasser Djiga rock-solid at the back and the midfield dictating play.
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Weekend Warning Sign
If the midweek performance was ruthless and controlled, Saturday at Ibrox was flat and disjointed.
Against a Dundee side still finding their feet under Steven Pressley, and coming off a Premier Sports Cup elimination and an opening-day loss to Hibs, Rangers laboured badly.
Martin kept faith with the XI that dismantled Plzeň, but the spark was gone.
Possession was plentiful, penetration minimal. Dessers wasted the best chance of the first half, failing to convert Gassama’s cross, while Dundee carried the greater threat from set pieces, striking the post twice before the break.
The warning signs turned into scoreboard damage on 52 minutes, Ryan Astley’s looping header from a free-kick beating Jack Butland.
Worse followed seven minutes later as Djiga was shown a straight red for bringing down Finlay Robertson. Contact looked minimal, but the defender had been caught the wrong side, and the dismissal leaves him potentially suspended for the Old Firm later this month.
With little structure or urgency, Rangers looked beaten until the 90th minute, when Gassama won a penalty that Tavernier converted to salvage a point.
Dessers thought he’d completed the turnaround deep into stoppage time, but VAR ruled him narrowly offside.
The late escape couldn’t disguise the reality: this was a domestic performance lacking pace, leadership, and conviction, a let-off rather than a recovery, for the second time in a row in the Premiership.
Eyes on Plzeň
That inconsistency is the danger Martin must guard against tomorrow. Plzeň overturned a deficit against Servette in the previous round and will take encouragement from Rangers’ sluggish weekend showing.
If the first leg version of Rangers turns up, disciplined, dynamic, and ruthless, the playoff round is within reach.
But if Saturday’s lethargy creeps back in, the tie could yet become far more uncomfortable than the first leg suggested.