{"id":63723,"date":"2025-08-12T23:42:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T23:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/63723\/"},"modified":"2025-08-12T23:42:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T23:42:11","slug":"rangers-suffer-another-bump-in-the-road-but-avoid-total-champions-league-breakdown-in-plzen-five-talking-points","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/63723\/","title":{"rendered":"Rangers suffer another bump in the road but avoid total Champions League breakdown in Plzen \u2013 five talking points"},"content":{"rendered":"

Russell Martin has \u00a340million Champions League showdown to navigate but his team will need to go up a few gears to stand a chance<\/p>\n

20:08, 12 Aug 2025Updated 22:18, 12 Aug 2025<\/p>\n

\"'Rangers<\/p>\n

‘Rangers were WOEFUL and that’s the worst we’ve seen so far’ – Hotline Live<\/p>\n

In the city which gave birth to the Skoda, Rangers<\/a> suffered another bump in the road.<\/p>\n

Thankfully for Russell Martin<\/a>, it wasn\u2019t enough to see his team skid out of the Champions League<\/a> entirely.<\/p>\n

But the Ibrox gaffer will surely know this Ibrox ragged outfit are going to have to go up more than a few gears if they are to have any chance of surviving next week\u2019s \u00a340million play-off test.<\/p>\n

The pressure was on the new Govan gaffer and his players after a disastrous start to the domestic campaign left fans fearing this year\u2019s title race is already spluttering like a clapped out banger.<\/p>\n

And concerns of another costly breakdown soared when Rangers failed to react to a quick Viktoria free-kick, allowing Rafu Durosinmi to sweep home the night\u2019s opening goal just before halt-time.<\/p>\n

But on the day the club announced a u-turn on plans to postpone next week\u2019s trip to Paisley<\/a>, the Light Blues finally got themselves heading in the right direction on the hour mark.<\/p>\n

John Souttar\u2019s long ball over the Plzen defence found Mohamed Diomande. His cut back was swept towards goal by substitute Danilo, with Lyall Cameron<\/a> providing the vital touch to record his first goal and restore the three-goal lead Gers built up in Glasgow last week.<\/p>\n

Plzen continued to fight and found a way past Jack Butland\u2019s heroics with 10 minutes to go as Svetozar Markhovic nodded home from Christophe Kabongo\u2019s cross.<\/p>\n

That confirmed a first defeat for Martin as Ibrox boss but they still motor on to a final league phase eliminator with either Club Brugge or Red Bull Salzburg next week.<\/p>\n

Here’s five talking points from Plzen.<\/p>\n

Attitude adjustment<\/p>\n

All eyes were on how Rangers would respond after Sunday\u2019s dismal draw with Dundee.<\/p>\n

But it was a display that will only further concern the already worried Ibrox support.<\/p>\n

Plzen boss Miroslav Koubek admitted his side needed a miracle to progress – but Martin\u2019s team did all they could to encourage the hosts.<\/p>\n

Frankly, Gers are lucky they didn\u2019t see their lead overturned given the number of chances they offered up.<\/p>\n

Their only saving grace was that the Czechs lacked the quality to take advantage.<\/p>\n

The Doosan Arena isn\u2019t one of Europe\u2019s more intimidating venues. Think Livingston without the faded seats.<\/p>\n

Svetozar Markovic of Viktoria Plzen celebrates scoring his team’s second goal<\/p>\n

But again it proved to be another uncomfortable evening for a Rangers side still ill at ease with their new tactics.<\/p>\n

With Plzen applying pressure, Martin\u2019s men tried to go long over the hosts\u2019 press.<\/p>\n

But time and time again it simply handed the possession Martin prizes so highly away as Cyriel Dessers proved incapable of holding onto the ball.<\/p>\n

All that did was encourage Plzen. After coming close with a few efforts, they finally grabbed a lifeline with Durosinmi\u2019s goal just before the break.<\/p>\n

This was another test of the Light Blues\u2019 nerve. They should have eased the tension with Cameron\u2019s equaliser but again it was panic stations as Rangers continued to invite pressure.<\/p>\n

Jack Butland did his best to stave it off with two fabulous saves but was helpless as Markhovic nodded home. Play like this again and Rangers will suffer in Brugge\/Salzburg*****.<\/p>\n

Raskin returns<\/p>\n

The pre-match build up was dominated by Russell Martin\u2019s revelation that he had decided to drop Nico Raskin for last week\u2019s first leg because the little Belgian\u2019s head had been turned by summer transfer talk.<\/p>\n

But the 24-year-old has quickly quelled the manager\u2019s concerns with his renewed sense of focus.<\/p>\n

Raskin was Gers\u2019 top performer last term but his new boss has made clear that all counts for nothing now as he seeks to stamp his own imprint on the team.<\/p>\n

Nicolas Raskin<\/p>\n

And it looks like Raskin is determined to convince the new boss that he should be the central figure in this new-look line up.<\/p>\n

He was alert and switched on, covering for his full backs when they ventured forward and worked tirelessly to protect centre-backs John Souttar and Nasser Djiga.<\/p>\n

But like most of his team-mates, Russell needs to see much more quality on the ball if this new style is to click.<\/p>\n

Missing midfield blend<\/p>\n

Martin was keen to point out at his presser that it\u2019s not a case of one or the other when it comes to starting Raskin or Joe Rothwell.<\/p>\n

Well, they might find themselves reunited soon if Mohamed Diomande doesn\u2019t up his game on a more regular basis.<\/p>\n

The Ivory Coast international is a player who frustrates the life out of the Ibrox support.<\/p>\n

Capable of moments of proper skill one minute, basic errors the next. During the first half, however, it was mostly one careless mistake after another as he followed up disappointing displays against Motherwell and Dundee.<\/p>\n

At half-time, Martin needed the \u00a34million signing from Nordsjaelland to give the show the kind of reaction Raskin has produced and thankfully he got it.<\/p>\n

It was Diomande\u2019s darting run in behind that finally pierced the Plzen defence and allowed Gers to draw level through Cameron.<\/p>\n

Dessers despair<\/p>\n

The Nigerian frontman is another who leaves the Light Blue legions tearing their hair out at times.<\/p>\n

But with 52 goals in just over two seasons at the club, he\u2019s been the most reliable of the club\u2019s flakey frontmen.<\/p>\n

Cyriel Dessers goes down injured<\/p>\n

The last thing Martin needs, therefore, was to see the strike limping off after rolling his ankle on the Doosan turf.<\/p>\n

A stretcher was called but thankfully the 30-year-old was able to make his way off under his own steam.<\/p>\n

Rangers will now have to wait for news on the damage but should it prove to be anything more than a couple of weeks, the hunt for new frontline options that\u2019s been progressing slowly all summer will have to be accelerated.<\/p>\n

Nice little earner<\/p>\n

Gers have banked themselves a \u00a33.7million bonus for reaching the play-off rounds.<\/p>\n

That tidy sum will certainly come in handy for the club\u2019s new American owners after this summer\u2019s \u00a320million shopping spree.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s in the league phase where the real riches are up for grabs.<\/p>\n

Should Gers get past Brugge or Salzburg, they will then find UEFA dropping a cool \u00a316million into their accounts. Every win they manage in the continent\u2019s top tournament is worth a further \u00a31.8million, while a draw earns \u00a3600,000.<\/p>\n

Throw in TV rights, tickets sales and hospitality revenue and there is the potential for earnings to soar north of \u00a340million.<\/p>\n

However, those figures will drop drastically should the Ibrox men fall at the play-off hurdle and slump into the Europa League, where teams making the league phase receive a far less lucrative payment of \u00a33.1million.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Russell Martin has \u00a340million Champions League showdown to navigate but his team will need to go up a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":63724,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,6257,27796,596,50928,41609,30838,8998,9005,9003,85,50929],"class_list":["post-63723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-champions-league","tag-cyriel-dessers","tag-football","tag-jack-butland","tag-lyall-cameron","tag-nicolas-raskin","tag-rangers-fc","tag-russell-martin","tag-scottish-premiership","tag-sports","tag-st-mirren-fc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63723\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}