What should have been a triumphant homecoming for us on Tuesday night turned into a horror movie as we suffered a devastating 2-1 defeat to Swedish Champions Malmo. And what made this particulary gruesome viewing was the fact that it came less than 72 hours after a 1-0 defeat to Dundee United.
Rangers have played four games this season and lost three of them. Last season we only lost three games all season across four competitions. In the four games played we have conceded 5 goals, including against Malmo, on two occassions, two goals in quick succession. Depsite scoring five goals in the five games played we appear to lack a sharpness and directness in the attacking third. Collectively the squad is currently nowhere near the level it reached during last season's momentous title win.
It is hard to pinpoint exactly what is the cause of this exceptionally poor start to the season, and perhaps there are several contributing factors, but the most striking is the fact that the starting XI in the 2nd leg vs Malmo did not feature any new signings. John Lundstram and Fashion Sakala who both came arrived at the start of the new season made the bench but Steven Gerrard didn't trust either to start in what was a must win game.
The signing of John Lundstram was heralded by many as good business, particualry as no fee was involved, but his performances so far have failed to impress. Due to the suspension of Glen Kamara and the longstanding injury problems of Ryan Jack our midfield options were once again limited which highlighted the lack of depth we have in this area. It's too early to make full judgement on Lundstram but it's clear that he will need time to get up to the level of performance required to be a first team regular.
After several seasons of success in Europa League qualifying Steven Gerrard and the board have underestimated the step up in quality that would be required in qualifying for the Champions League. Results in the Europa league over the last couple of seasons, defeating Porto, Antwerp, Legia Warsaw to highlight just some, have rightly been celebrated and praised. However the Champions League, even at the qualifying stage, is at a level beyond that of the Europa League and we learned this the hard way on Tuesday.
Perhaps what will concern Steven Gerrard and his backroom team most is that the tie aganist Malmo was decided as a result of defensive frailities in the Rangers side rather than because of moments of quality from the opposition. Which brings the decision by Steven Gerrard to drop Filip Helander for Leon Balogun in Tuesday's night game under greater scrutiny.
Helander reads the game expertly and positionally is excellent. Balogun is regarded to have more pace than Helander, although that is possibly a little harsh on Helande,r and is regarded as the better option for when Rangers are expected to have more possession in the back line. Dropping Helander on Tuesday night was a big call, particularly when Balogun hadn't started a competitive game this season, and this lack of match readiness was exposed in the 2nd Malmo goal. Balogun was too tight to Kolak as the ball came to the Malmo striker, allowing him to turn Balogun easily before slotting his shot past McGregor.
Alongisde Balogun on Tuesday night was Connor Goldson who appears to be distracted by the ongoing saga of his contract talks. Goldson was the corner stone of the defence in which last seasons title was built but his performances this season have not been up to the same standard. It's clear that the ongoing contract situation is affecting his performance and the situation needs to be rectifed as soon as possible.
As much as errors in our defensive play were a major part in our defeat on Tuesday so to was the lack of creativity in forward areas. Alarm bells had already been sounded in this area following Saturday's defeat at Tannadice and they appeared to go unheeded. Ryan Kent refused to engage his opponent and too often scampered down blind alleys, Scott Wright showed glimpses of what he could do but he faded quickly. Joe Aribo looked almost unplayable in the first 20 minutes of the game aganist Malmo before retreating into his shell for most of the second half. The only bright spark was Alfredo Morelos who led the line superbly and once again got his name on the scoresheet.
Friday night will see us start the first of our domestic cup campaigns with a home fixture aganist Dunfermline Athletic. Our record in both the League Cup and Scottish Cup has been extremley poor in the last few seasons (one final in the last 5 years) and it is important that changes this year. Rangers as a club are built on success and winning trophies. In interviews following our title win last season Gerrard talked about how he was hungry for more success. Friday night gives the players the chance to demonstrate that, despite what happend on Tuesday, they also have the hunger and desire to win more trophies.
WDTCR
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