Rangers secured their second Europa League victory of the season after seeing off Romanian champions FC Steaua Bucharest 4-0 at Ibrox Stadium. Philippe Clement’s men put the heavy defeat against Ligue 1 outfit Lyon in the previous game week behind them with a strong showing in Glasgow.
The hosts made a lively start to the encounter in Europe’s second-tier competition and took the lead through former Derby County ace Tom Lawrence. The Welshman was slightly fortunate to see his effort strike both feet before bobbling past the goalkeeper from 18 yards out.
Czech Republic winger Vaclav Cerny – on loan for the season – doubled the hosts’ advantage as he was allowed to cut inside and stroke the ball into the far corner with his weaker right foot. It was the least he deserved as the Gers’ most dangerous-looking attacker in the opening 45 minutes.
He was at it again just shy of the hour mark as a flowing team move resulted in Cerny guiding the ball into the back of the net with his left foot this time. He sat the defender down before easily slotting home to secure the three points. Hamza Igamane then registered his first goal for the club after a couple of neat step-overs to seal the dominant victory.
Rangers 4-0 Steaua Bucharest – Statistics | ||
|---|---|---|
Rangers | Statistic | FCSB |
54% | Possession | 46% |
23 | Total Shots | 7 |
7 | Shots on Target | 1 |
4 | Corners | 2 |
19 | Fouls | 14 |
3 | Yellow Cards | 4 |
Match Highlights
Rangers Player Ratings
GK – Jack Butland – 5/10
Had little to do in the opening exchanges but did what he had to when in possession of the ball to keep his team moving quickly. Got lucky with a nervy moment in the opening exchanges. Made a big save in the second period to maintain his clean sheet.
RB – James Tavernier – 6/10
Received a yellow card in the first-half after crashing into the opposing goalkeeper. The captain looked as composed and assured as ever in possession while working hard out of possession.
CB – Leon Balogun – 7/10
Proved he should be a regular in Clement’s starting XI with a controlled performance at the heart of the backline.
CB – John Souttar – 6/10
Almost doubled Rangers’ advantage with a flying header inside the first 20 minutes. Used the ball well and dealt with the threat of the Romanian opposition commandingly.
LB – Jefte – 7/10
Did most of his work going forward rather than having to track back towards his own goal. Always available for a teammate but his final ball lacked at times.
CM – Connor Barron – 8/10
The former Aberdeen man was constantly biting into strong challenges to drive his side forward and set the tempo. His use of the ball was solid, too. Won’t want to see a replay of his timid left-footed effort in the first-half.
CM – Nico Raskin – 7/10
Put in a lively performance in the middle of the park, highlighted by his determination to win the ball back after giving it away in the opening 15 minutes.
AM – Tom Lawrence – 8/10
Opened the scoring for the Gers from the edge of the penalty area with a low drive. Capitalised on the home side’s fast start to find the net in back-to-back European fixtures.
RW – Vaclav Cerny – 9/10
Arrived late in the box several times with brilliantly timed runs from deep. Posed a threat from set-piece situations. Looked up for the occasion and took his goal brilliantly after cutting inside from the left wing. His second goal was even better due to the compsure on display to slot home form close range.
ST – Cyriel Dessers – 4/10
Struggled up against two solid central defenders. His hold-up play needs to be better in coming weeks for the Scottish side to climb up the SPFL table. Headed straight down the tunnel after being withdrawn on a disappointing night for the Nigeria international.
LW – Nedim Bajrami – 6/10
Had a quiet evening compared to his opposite winger, but still did well down the left flank. Held his width to create space for others.
SUB – Mohammed Doimande – 6/10
Replaced the injured Lawrence at half-time and continued the good work his teammate did in the middle of the park. A different type of midfielder, Diomande posed less of a goal threat but kept Clement’s side solid in the engine room.
SUB – Hamza Igamane – 7/10
Had more joy than Dessers against the centre-backs. Created space brilliantly to fire home to make it 4-0 to the home side.
SUB – Robin Propper – 4/10
Played a couple of loose passes to bring late pressure on his team.
SUB – Zak Lovelace – 5/10
Didn’t make a huge difference after being brought on with 15 minutes remaining.
SUB – Neraysho Kasanwirjo – 5/10
Similarly to Lovelace, wasn’t given enough time to make a huge impact on the match.
FCSB Player Ratings
GK – Stefan Tarnovanu – 4/10
Beat away Raskin’s early long-range effort as the visitors were under pressure in the opening moments. Should have done better from Lawrence’s effort from the edge of the box.
RB – Alexandru Pantea – 6/10
Fared slightly better against his winger than Popescu on the other side of the backline. Played simple passes and kept Bajrami quiet for the most part.
CB – Siyabonga Ngezana – 6/10
Didn’t do too much massively wrong individually, but the Scottish opposition just had too much firepower for Ngenza and co to cope. He did well against Dessers, who struggled.
CB – Joyskim Dawa – 5/10
Put in some wonderful early challenges to set the pace for the rest of his game. Dominated against Dessers physically throughout. Was poor for Cerny’s goal as he allowed the Rangers attacker too much space to rifle home.
LB – Mihai Popescu – 4/10
Struggled to deal with Cerny, who consistently got the better of him with runs in behind the full-back. Was booked for a pullback on Cerny, who was running him ragged all game.
CM – Baba Alhassan – 5/10
Struggled against the opposing midfield as Barron, Lawrence and Raskin definitely won the midfield battle.
CM – Malcom Edjouma – 5/10
Like Alhassan, had a hard time tracking attacking runners from the Rangers engine room. Failed to do much of note in possession of the ball and spent the majority of his game chasing Lawrence.
RM – Marius Stefanescu – 4/10
His best opportunity came from a free-kick on the edge of the box, but he failed to hit the target and work Butland. Worked hard but was rarely involved in an attacking sense. Spent a lot of his time tracking Jefte’s forward runs.
AM – Luis Phelipe de Souza Figueiredo – 6/10
Booked early on as he was left chasing shadows for the majority of the first half. Was forced to drop deeper to try and get involved in the build-up for his side. Went close to finding the top corner after a well-worked free-kick routine.
LM – David Miculescu – 5/10
Dispossessed Butland and rolled the ball into the back of the net in the opening stages, and was unlucky to see it ruled out for a foul. Fired a horrible free-kick over the bar to compound his misery on the night.
ST – Daniel Birligea – 6/10
Led the line well for his side despite a lack of quality service. Drew several fouls in dangerous positions to give his team a fighting chance.
SUB – Risto Radunovic – 5/10
Couldn’t help his side’s defensive woes improve in the second-half.
SUB – Octavian Popescu – 6/10
Failed to provide the creative spark his side were looking for.
SUB – Alexandru Baluta – 5/10
His side were already up against it by the time he was introduced.
SUB – Alexandru Musi – 5/10
His side were already up against it by the time he was introduced.
SUB – William Baeten – 5/10
His side were already up against it by the time he was introduced.
Man of the Match
Vaclav Cerny
The Czech wide player narrowly beat his teammate Connor Barron to the Man of the Match award due to his brilliantly-taken goal to extend the hosts’ advantage before adding a beautiful third. He was a constant threat for the Scottish giants and really put the Romanians to the sword.
His composure in front of goal was wonderful to see and Gers fans will be hoping to see the club make his loan move permanent if he keeps up this scintilating form. Cerny was the standout performer in the famous blue shirt on yet another impressive European night.