'Shoddy and shabby' Rangers do what they need to
Rangers' masters of own problems
It was obvious why Martin was unhappy. In Plzen, Rangers conceded 27 shots, a staggering 21 of them coming from inside their penalty area.As a result, the Czech side ended with an expected goals rating of 3.31, with Butland making eight saves, with the one to deny Prince Adu truly world class.Given Rangers' impressive first-leg performance, a one-off poor display with a comfortable 3-0 aggregate lead could be forgiven given the end result.But early in the season, it has been a pattern. Rangers have conceded 97 shots in their six games so far, an average of 16 per game.Had Plzen, Panithinaikos, Motherwell, or even Dundee been more clinical then it could easily be a different story in this nascent campaign."Plzen had four 100% chances and took one of them - and they all came from Rangers' mistakes," former Rangers midfielder Ian McCall said on Sportsound. "They were shoddy and shabby, but the name of the game is getting into the next round."There's an awful lot of money at stake, and they'll have a chance. But they'll need to defend a lot better in terms of not giving the ball away in dangerous areas."
Rangers' inability to keep the ball and move it up the pitch, instead gifting it back to Plzen, was something Martin picked out too."There were some good moments we didn't make the most of, but I'm disappointed with the number of shots and chances they have and most of it is self-inflicted," the Rangers head coach added."Our level of quality on the ball and decision making wasn't good enough."Wingers Oliver Antman and Djeidi Gassama, so influential in the first-leg victory, were hardly in the game before being substituted in the second half. Mainly, because Rangers could not get the ball to them. Their biggest passing combinations on the night were between Butland and his two centre-backs.Things kept breaking down before it could get near the wide duo, with striker Cyriel Dessers not receiving a single pass from a central midfielder before going off with a bad-looking injury after the break.
'Brugge will not miss gifts'
Other than going through, the big positive on the night was Lyall Cameron grabbing his first Rangers goal, capping off a solid individual performance.Butland's form is also a big plus given his struggles in the second half of last season and, with despite the obvious flaws, Rangers have found a knack of coming up with big goals in Europe regardless of the momentum in games.However, that is not a sustainable recipe for success in European football's premier competition.Club Brugge will undoubtedly be a step up. Last season they reached the last 16 of the Champions League, eventually losing to Aston Villa.The teams shared a 2-2 draw at Ibrox in pre-season, so there will be a degree of familiarity, as much as a friendly can replicate competitive action."If Rangers were playing against a better quality of team, even with the 3-0 lead, this game could have gone to extra-time or they could have lost it," former Rangers striker Steven Thompson said on Sportsound."They cannot afford to play like that against Brugge. You can guarantee they're not going to be missing those types of gifts."
Your views - get involved
Andy C: It's grim watching. So many times the Gers gave the ball away under self-inflicted pressure. Souttar and Butland seem to be the only two who know what they're doing.Graham: How long is it going to take for the players to adapt to the new "style of play" before the fans lose faith? Because right now I see no improvements at all, if anything the last few games I've watched has been the worst watch in years.Ray: All that matters is they are through that's it. If they play as badly against Brugge and go through that's all that matters as well. You need good players to play Martin's system and the extra money may well help him in that quest.Brian: Another woefully poor performance from this team - I honestly don't know what is going on under Martin and I fear that it's not going to end well and will only set the club back even further. Sloppy defending and wasteful on the counter.Florentina: A lot of negative comments as usual with Rangers, but we're through to the next round. People also forget, that if it wasn't for our efforts in Europe the last few years, where would Scotland's coefficient be? Well done Rangers.
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