By Alistair Aird
Rangers welcomed Olympique Lyonnais to Ibrox on Matchday 2 of the revamped Europa League. Sitting sixth in the table following the magnificent 2-0 win last week in Malmo, Philippe Clement was looking to achieve something that neither Walter Smith nor Steven Gerrard had done, breach the Lyon defence in our own backyard. Back in 2007, a Karim Benzema-inspired Lyon had ended hopes of qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League with a 3-0 win, while in 2021, our Europa League group stage campaign got off to an uncertain start when we lost by two goals to nil. Remarkably, in both of those seasons, Rangers reached a European final so perhaps playing Lyon in Glasgow is like lucky white heather for the Light Blues.
The 2-0 defeat in 2021 was a significant moment for me too. It was the first time I was afforded the privilege of representing Follow Follow on the press gantry. As a fan, experiencing watching my heroes in this capacity was certainly different, as was the very intimidating moment Steven Gerrard entered the press room post-match. But some three years later, I’m now quizzing a fourth Rangers manager after the game has ended, and while we have been in a state of flux during that time period, I have to admit that I actually enjoy watching and analysing the game from this vantage point more than I do as a supporter in any other part of this magnificent arena we call home.
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After a stodgy display against Hibernian at the weekend, we expected to see changes and Clement named a starting XI that was arguably the strongest one he had at his disposal. Nedim Bajrami, a second half substitute on Sunday, came in to play on the left of the three in the manager’s favoured 4-2-3-1 ‘structure’, and Cyriel Dessers was back as the focal point of the attack. In midfield, Mohamed Diomande took over from Nico Raskin, taking his place alongside the recently crowned Men’s Player of the Month, Connor Barron.
The young lad from Kintore near Inverurie has had an almost faultless start to his Rangers career and is now a first pick in the number six role. His dynamism and boundless energy are the hallmarks of his game, and his stats make for impressive reading. In six Scottish Premiership matches, he has averaged 77.5 touches per game and has a passing accuracy of 95% in own half and 86% in the opposition half. That’s 91% overall and that plus his ball retention would be key factors if Rangers were to register a win in this one.
But Rangers had enjoyed a mixed bag of results against French sides in the past. The Light Blues marked their debut in a major continental competition with a 2-1 win over OGC Nice in the European Champions Cup in September 1956, but since then they have won just six of the 26 matches played against teams with some French flair. The last four of those 26 fixtures have seen us face Lyon, with the famous win in the Stade Gerland in 2007 the only time we have beaten tonight’s opponents. Perhaps this match would buck the historical trend and see the pendulum of success swing back towards Rangers.
At around four minutes to eight, the Europa League anthem came blaring out through the tannoy system followed by a raucous roar as the teams emerged. Having experienced each and every Europa League night on the way to Seville, I was hoping this would be another one that would have the hairs standing up on the back of my neck. The stage was set, the cries from the crowd reached a crescendo and the German referee got the match underway.
The home side were first to show some attacking intent. The ball was sprayed wide to Jefte and the Brazilian, available selection again after serving a one-match suspension following his farcical ordering off against Dynamo Kyiv, flashed it across the goal. And moments later, the Lyon goalkeeper, Lucas Perri, had to react smartly to block a close range effort from James Tavernier. That denied the captain what would have been a landmark goal. Sitting on 20 goals in European competition for Rangers, Tavernier was one behind a gentleman who had been awarded an Order of the British Empire the previous day. Alistair McCoist OBE scored 21 times in 54 European appearances, while Tavernier has reached his mark in 85 appearances. McCoist will point to the fact that 18 of his goals came in the top competition, but nonetheless, Tavernier’s tally is still one to be proud of.
After 10 minutes, Vaclav Cerny missed a sitter. Tom Lawrence fired in a shot that was pushed out by Perri, and on his favoured left foot, the Czech had a tap in, but he blasted the ball high into the Broomloan Road. And moments later, he was punished for his profligacy when Fofana opened the scoring for the visitors. The winger has blown hot and cold since arriving in the summer and this was another moment to forget for him.
But Rangers were only behind momentarily. The goalscoring hero at the weekend, Lawrence, was on the mark again, hoovering up the loose ball after Corentin Tolisso had sold his goalkeeper short with a weak headed backpass. This was the Welshman’s fourth goal of the season and with Ianis Hagi now being considered for selection again, perhaps this was Lawrence making a statement of intent regarding the number 10 role in the team.
It had been a relentless start from both sides, but before 20 minutes had elapsed and anyone could pause and catch their breath, Lyon were ahead again. The former Arsenal forward, Alex Lacazette, was the man on the mark this time when he was teed up by the scorer of the first goal, Fofana. The opportunity had come about as a result of a rare errant pass from Barron. It was only the second time he had given the ball away in the match, but at this level, errors are often punished and that was the case on this occasion.
The game was, however, wide open and the Lyon defence looked ropey any time they were put under pressure. There was still plenty of time for Rangers to mount a gallant comeback.
Fofana should have netted his second of the evening after half an hour, but after embarking on a stunning run that took him beyond Barron and Souttar, he was denied by a sprawling Jack Butland. The Rangers goalkeeper had made a timely intervention with his penalty save on Sunday and this was another in that category. Although the French side had looked susceptible to conceding goals, a two-goal cushion at this point would have given them a pretty solid foundation upon which to build upon.
In truth, Rangers were masters of their own downfall. The ball had been given away cheaply too often – passing accuracy was down at 78.21% compared to 86.25% from Lyon – and after a promising start, there was a lack of cohesion in their play. Bajrami had looked bright and inventive when he had the ball, and looked at this point to be the player that could provide that guile and spark to turn the game back in Rangers’ favour.
But seconds after the fourth official indicated there would be an additional five minutes at the end of the first half, Lyon netted for a third time. Fofana was involved in the move again, and when the ball broke to Lacazette, he lashed it high into the net. Butland had no chance to stop it on this occasion, and as the first half drew to a close, you felt that the task of securing maximum points was now an insurmountable one for Rangers.
Clement made a change at the break. Kieran Dowell, who had come on at the same stage against Hibernian and assumed the number eight role, was introduced for Lawrence. The Englishman had said at the weekend that he always preferred playing in the attacking three, so this was an opportunity to reinforce that he had the ability to do so.
Goals change games and you felt that an early counter from the home side might stir the crowd and rattle Lyon. Bajrami tried his best to fashion an opening when he wriggled to the bye-line – the outstretched foot of Perri stopped him from picking out someone in a blue jersey – and the Albanian then skewed a shot wide of goal after Perri had palmed Cerny’s cross out to the edge of the penalty area.
But that interlude of positivity would be a short one. Ten minutes after the restart, Fofana had his second, a tap in at the back post after Rayan Cherki had manoeuvred himself away from Barron. And not for the first time, there were question marks over the defending of James Tavernier too as the captain hadn’t reacted when the ball was played across goal.
That would be the last action of the night for Tavernier. He was replaced by Kasanwirjo. Time would tell what the manager’s motives were for the alteration as Tavernier certainly didn’t look to be suffering from any kind of injury. Was this the first indication of an imminent changing of the guard?
The on-loan Dutchman cleared an effort from Tolisso off the line after 67 minutes after a header from Caleta-Car had struck the crossbar. Rather than reducing the arrears, it looked increasingly likely that this was going to get much worse for Rangers. Memories of the demolition at the hands of Liverpool in 2022 were still very much in the memories of the fans, and this match had now induced that gut churning feeling that further humiliation could become a reality.
Dowell stung the right hand of Perri with a shot after 73 minutes as Rangers showed a flicker of forward thinking, but it was too little, too late. At least the home side would be afforded some respite for the closing quarter of an hour as the Lyon manager chose to take Fofana off. With two goals and an assist, this was a stellar performance from the 19-year-old Belgian. His transfer fee was a mere 17 million Euros with a further 5 million Euros in add-ons. That’s money that Clement can only dream of having to fund his rebuilding of Rangers.
Having brought on Raskin and Sterling earlier in the half, Clement made a further change when he pitched Ross McCausland into the action. One of the goal heroes in Malmo replaced Bajrami – the one shing light on a grim night – but Lyon had long since tamed any threat Rangers had. They were going through the motions. Had they wanted to, they could have probably scored more goals, and only Butland, some slack finishing and a couple of offside flags stopped them from doing so.
Thus, rather than being one of those nights when Ibrox was a blaze of glory, this had been the proverbial damp squib, a sobering night. But given the gulf in finances, was the final outcome really a surprise? We can no longer consider that we have the budget to allow us to dine at the top table of European football and we are now falling by the wayside in the continent’s second tier tournament, a competition we were runners-up in just over two years ago. Instead of gorging ourselves on the cuisine of champions, we are instead feasting on scraps and although that may be hard for our supporters to swallow, it is I’m afraid the harsh and chilling reality.