Ibrox Noise
·27 September 2024
In partnership with
Yahoo sportsIbrox Noise
·27 September 2024
Who would ever have thought Rangers would already be 6th in the Europa League table, having comfortably won their opening league match against an all-bark-no-bite Malmo who really did offer so little.
Rangers were extremely worthy winners in Sweden on Thursday, having opened with a brilliant bang as Cyriel Dessers broke through, and despite wasting a brilliant chance himself, instead smacked the post leaving it gloriously open for Nedim Bajrami to slot home inside one minute.
This left the hosts completely shell-shocked, and the arrogance from them pre-match was already looking silly.
This is not the first time ‘unfancied’ Rangers have gone up against a ‘big shot’ in Europe, who showed incredible arrogance about their chances against a club – remember the mince from Marco Reus for Dortmund? Remember Herr Matthäus and his shocking condescension about our club during that general run?
While most of Ibrox Noise admittedly didn’t give Rangers a lot of hope going into yesterday evening ourselves (aside Derek, who nailed it in all fairness), we know fine well that we were far from alone with that viewpoint.
And yet Malmo with their excruciating arrogance leading into this one really did fall flat – it’s the first time it’s felt like a Philippe Clement Rangers side has read the hate-filled material pinned on the dressing room wall and used it as fuel to run rampant.
Rangers maybe didn’t outright destroy Malmo, but they were far and away the best side and a deserving winner – even if there should have been many, many more goals and staggeringly we should be top of the league already!
Malmo are a miles better team than a certain Slovak champion, put it that way, and Rangers went to their patch and comfortably put them away.
Is this the beginning, at last, of Philippe Clement’s real Rangers starting to click?
We don’t know – but it was an excellent all-round performance which gives hope and demonstrates that this team can play and win when it wants to.
To be 6th already in a league of 36 is outstanding when no one gave us a whimper of a chance.
What is it about Rangers in the Europa League?