Rangers’ manager, Philippe Clement, bemoaned his team’s incapacity to “kill off” opportunities after his team conceded four goals in a crushing Europa League loss to Lyon.
Two days after Celtic’s humiliating 7-1 loss to Borussia Dortmund, their city rivals too had a depressing evening as the Ligue 1 visitors outperformed them.
The Ibrox manager lamented first and foremost a lack of cutting edge in attack even as he acknowledged his team “were not sharp enough” on defence. Even more obviously, Vaclav Cerny and James Tavernier both squandered excellent chances early in the competition.
“We don’t reward ourselves clearly on the scoreline,” Clement said to TNT Sports.
As a result, you have two 100% chances, which are the game’s initial chances. You must eliminate them. It’s obviously a whole different game if it’s 1-0 or 2-0.
“We trail because we lose balls in areas where we shouldn’t lose balls and because our defence isn’t good enough.
“In the end we have the same amount of chances as Lyon, identical numbers, but the scoreboard is apparent. And that’s the difference in quality and finishing.”
Clement states he “won’t tolerate” Rangers’ current standard.
The two early opportunities Clement mentioned were from captain Tavernier, who saw his shot superbly saved by Lyon keeper Lucas Perri, and Cerny, who had a goal yawning from yards out, somehow cleared the bar.
When all of those things are taken into account, along with Tom Lawrence’s late equaliser and the Cyriel Dessers chance that went awry just before the equaliser, Rangers’ total expected goals were actually greater than Lyon’s—2.26 compared to the away team’s 2.15.
That undoubtedly indicates Clement’s attacking carelessness, which has been a problem early in the season as the Ibrox squad seemed to have trouble finishing teams off.
The Belgian was asked if he could believe the statistics, which also indicated that Rangers had more shots than Lyon, and he said, “No, I cannot.” I don’t accept our current situation or that we are losing games.
“I’m always ambitious to enhance the level. The fact that you produce so many opportunities against a really talented club that plays excellent football and combination play is, in my opinion, a very encouraging thing.
“But we need to make the next step to finish off those chances and then you can go to another level.”
Rangers shipped four goals and were lucky not to have let up more, so let’s put aside the lack of clinical edge at the top end.
This was only the third occasion in Europe that the Ibrox club have conceded four goals at home in the Europa League/Uefa Cup before this loss.
Their entire performance was abysmal, as Lyon’s excellent assault led by Malick Fofana, Rayan Cherki, and Alexandre Lacazette took advantage of their mistakes.
This season, Rangers’ formation has come under fire, especially in midfield, and it was poor again on Thursday, which contributed to the visitors’ ability to consistently slice through the hosts.
previous Ibrox striker Steven Thompson expressed scepticism about his previous side’s performance level and implied their victories had been covering up cracks, even though they had gone into the game after four straight clean sheets.
“Rangers had built up a wee bit of momentum with the four clean sheets, but the performances, Malmo apart, haven’t been great,” he continued in an interview with Sportsound.
Thus, it’s possible that they have been disguising their performances as outcomes. The management will attempt to convey the idea that “it looks good.” Is it, though? That is the query.
“Ranger learning curve is steep” – analysis
The Rangers had a rough night. Moving forward, Clement’s players were totally overwhelmed by the calibre of the French side.
For a while, it was close, Lyon looking as shoddy at the back as their hosts, at least in the early going.
Naturally, like with most things in life, you get what you pay for. In Lacazette, Fofana and Cherki, the visitors boasted the kind of talent Rangers can only dream of.
Clinical and lethal laczazette. Cherki is captivating and erratic. Fofana lightning swift and loaded with potential.
Fofana was named player of the match for his two goals and overall performance. He had intense competition from Lyon, a team that was a joy to watch, especially from midfield to the front.
Rangers, who are accustomed to being far, far more competitive in the Europa League, had a steep learning curve.
For the fans and players of Scotland’s top two teams, this week has been a harsh reality check. Celtic were smacked for seven in Dortmund. Rangers lost four games in a row against a squad presently ranked eleventh in Ligue 1.
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