Rangers’ wait for a first victory in this season’s Europa League goes on.
Prior to Thursday night, the Gers had lost seven successive European matches for the very first time and, while that streak has come to an end, they did not claim a much-needed victory, held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by Braga.
James Tavernier broke the deadlock from the penalty spot, equaling Ally McCoist’s tally of 21 European goals for the club, chasing down Alfredo Morelos’ all-time record of 29.
This looked like being the decisive goal on the night, especially when Rodrigo Zalazar was sent off for gently headbutting Nicolas Raskin, only for Gabri Martínez to equalise for the ten-men Arsenalists soon after.
The match would end ten vs ten, Mohamed Diomandé rather softly shown a second yellow card by referee Allard Lindhout in injury time, as Rangers were booed off once again.
So, after five Europa League matches, the Light Blues have just one point on the board, probably needing to win their final three fixtures, against Ferencváros, Ludogorets Razgrad and Porto to avoid an ignominious early elimination, having finished all the way up in eighth in last year’s league phase.
This was only new manager Danny Röhl’s eighth match in charge, and he certainly has a tough job on his hands, so which summer recruits underlined why they cannot be trusted by the German coach during this latest poor result?
Nasser Djiga's poor Rangers form
With both John Souttar and Derek Cornelius suffering long-term injuries on international duty last week, Danny Röhl has no choice but to keep picking Emmanuel Fernandez and Nasser Djiga at centre-back, even though the latter once again let him down.
The Burkinabé international has, fair to say, not impressed since joining on loan from Wolves in the summer, very much at fault for Braga’s equaliser on Thursday, completely misjudging a ball into the box and allowing Martínez to slot the ball past Jack Butland.
Speaking during TNT Sports post-match coverage, former Celtic defender Johan Mjällby asserted that he would expect better from a 12 year old.
This though is not Djiga’s first high-profile error.
He was sent off on his home Premiership debut against Dundee before, later that month, running in the complete opposite direction as Romeo Vermant broke the deadlock just three minutes into the Champions League play-off tie, the first of nine goals Club Brugge would bag across the two legs.
Also speaking during commentary on TNT Sports on Thursday, when asked which position Rangers most urgently need to improve in the January transfer window, McCoist quickly answered centre-back, with Djiga clearly not at the required level, but which other summer recruit did not impress against Braga?
Rangers flop struggles again vs Braga
On Monday, Rangers confirmed that chief executive Patrick Stewart and sporting director Kevin Thelwell had both been sacked, the pair widely blamed by supporters for the clubs, how shall we put this diplomatically, puzzling summer recruitment?
The most bewildering of their 13 new signings was the arrival of Youssef Chermiti for £8m, potentially rising to £10m with add-ons, making him the club’s most expensive signing of the post-liquidation era, having scored a grand total of, let’s count them up here, zero goals in two seasons at Everton.
The Portuguese under-21 international has got off the mark north of the border, on target during a 3-1 win over Kilmarnock, Röhl’s first Premiership match in charge, and the German coach has shown Chermiti plenty of faith thus far, making him a regular starter.
However, that could soon change, with the table below underlining that he did not impress against Braga.
Shots on target
Zero
10th
Shots off target
1
1st
Shots blocked
2
1st
Expected goals
0.09
8th
Attempted dribbles
4
5th
Successful dribbles
Zero
10th
Accurate passes
11
21st
Key passes
Zero
10th
Duels contested
15
3rd
Duels won
6
9th
Possession lost
18
4th
Touches
39
16th
SofaScore rating
5.9
28th
The table emphasises Chermiti’s difficult night.
He was successful with none of his four attempted dribbles, completed just 11 passes and lost six of the 15 duels he contested, as well as turning over possession on 18 occasions from 39 touches – essentially losing the ball every 2.2 touches.
Unlike at the back, Röhl does have options for his forward line.
Danilo and Djeidi Gassama were chosen to complete the front three on Thursday, with Oliver Antman, Theo Aasgaard and Bojan Miovski all introduced as substitutes, while Mikey Moore is nursing a knock.
Thus, while Chermiti continues to offer very little, he surely should be left on the bench for Sunday’s clash with Falkirk.
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