Brugge star revels in Rangers fans' boos as fortress Ibrox crumbles
Club Brugge hero Brandon Mechele has confessed he loved hearing the boos rain down from the stands at Ibrox Stadium on Tuesday night.
Rangers have a mountain to climb to reach the league phase of the Champions League after a 3-1 shellacking at home to the Belgians.
Russell Martin's side shipped three goals inside 20 minutes – to spark a mass exodus of fans.
It was a calamitous opening and veteran defender Mechele's superb strike on his 500th appearance for Club Brugge sparked furious scenes among home supporters, with hundreds walking out in outrage.
And the Belgian international revealed he was delighted to hear it.
He said: "We silenced the crowd to the extent they even booed their own players.
"It was fantastic to come here and win and to score such a beautiful goal made it even more special. It's one for the history books.
"We were really strong in the first half and we had more chances to score.
"But it got tougher when we conceded a quick goal in the second half. We tried to slow the pace of the match and threatened with a few counterattacks. Defensively, we were good.
"At home, if we play like we did in the first half, we should be able to go through, but it's still football, so we have to be careful.
"Next week is incredibly important."
And opening goalscorer Romeo Vermant admitted he couldn't believe it when he was gifted an early opening goal after defender Nasser Djiga inexplicably didn't deal with a high ball.
Vermant said: "It's ideal to score after two minutes, especially after a mistake from them.
"I expected the defender or the keeper to just pick the ball up, but to my surprise, they both let it go.
"Then it was just a case of going for it and yes, it was a pretty good finish, even if I say so myself."
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