Rangers travelled to Bruges for a decisive second-leg clash with Club Brugge, staring down a 3-1 deficit from last week’s first-leg defeat at Ibrox.
It was do-or-die for Russell Martin and his men, who aimed to make history by becoming the first Gers side in over 70 years of European competition to overturn a first-leg home loss and progress.
For this crucial encounter, Nasser Djiga and Danilo returned to the starting XI following Sunday’s draw in Paisley, replacing Emmanuel Fernandez and Nico Raskin.
Captain James Tavernier remained on the bench in favour of Max Aarons, despite the Bournemouth loanee’s underwhelming start to the season.
Rangers desperately needed a dream start, instead, they were plunged straight into a nightmare that would defy even the most negative supporters worst fears.
Within three minutes it was 1–0 to Brugge, restoring the three-goal cushion that Danilo had trimmed with his strike in the first leg.
From the Rangers’ right, Greek winger Christos Tzolis whipped in a superb cross after slack tracking from Oliver Antman, and Nicolò Tresoldi ghosted between a flat-footed Djiga and John Souttar to nod past Jack Butland.
Things went from bad to worse moments later. A simple long ball exposed Rangers’ back line, with Aarons caught in no man’s land. He hauled down the Brugge attacker in a clear denial of a goalscoring opportunity and was shown a straight red. As he trudged off, Rangers’ European hopes all but walked off with him.
On the pitch stood players who looked like they didn’t want to be there, and on the sidelines a coach who looked like he had no idea how to change it.
Butland produced several inspired stops to keep the score down, but eventually the floodgates opened again.
From yet another set piece, veteran defender Hans Vanaken towered above weak challenges to head home Brugge’s second. No challenge, no man on the post, and a goalkeeper stranded out of position, a calamity of errors, typical of the Martin era so far.
Vanaken would later rattle the bar, a brief reprieve, before the third inevitably arrived. Joaquin Seys forced Butland into a fine save, but the keeper was powerless to stop the rebound as the 20-year-old, blonde haired prodigy lashed home, the final nail in Rangers’ Champions League coffin, and perhaps Russell Martin’s career.
Seys then struck again, Brugge in again unmarked at the back post as Djeidi Gassama switched off, tucking it away with ease.
The humiliation didn’t end there. Before half-time it was five. Vanaken, this time the provider, found Aleksandar Stanković, son of Inter legend Dejan, again unmarked to beat the helpless Butland and heap further misery on the Ibrox side.
Somehow, Martin survived the interval with his job.
Aasgaard, Gassama and Joe Rothwell did not, all replaced at halftime by Raskin, Mohammed Diomande and Findlay Curtis.
Rangers reverting to a 5-4-0 formation, turning the game into an attack vs defence training drill for the Belgians. A dereliction of duty from the head coach to wait to the break to make a change needed three goals beforehand.
Tresoldi produced some clever work to flick a backheel into the path of Tzolis, but once again Rangers’ defending was schoolboy stuff as the hosts made it six early in the second half.
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Things got so bad that Brugge began defending for Rangers, Gustaf Nilsson headed away his own teams cross in the area before Stankovic blasted over from the edge of the area.
Brugge took their foot off the gas as they did at Ibrox and it finished at six. 9-1 on aggregate.
Phillipe Clement should have been sacked after Queen's Park but was allowed to limp on until the St Mirren defeat under the old board.
Time for this new board to show they actually are different. Will he go tonight or be allowed to inflict further embarrassment on Sunday.
Surely this can’t go on…