Rangers soothe wounds thanks to two buzzbombs - but there is one lucky boy as fans take advice

Ibrox side get much-needed victory over FCSB in Europa League

Philippe Clement got the performance he needed from his pilloried Rangers side as a 4-0 win over FCSB in the Europa League soothed the backlash from the weekend defeat at Kilmarnock.

A brilliant double from Vaclav Cerny sandwiched between Tom Lawrence's early tone-setter and substitute Hamza Igamane's first goal for the club gave the Ibrox side what they deserved from a bright, energetic and entertaining display. Not words that have been associated with Clement's side of late.

There was also a helping hand from Italian referee Marco Di Bello with a decision to penalise David Miculescu for a soft foul on goalkeeper Jack Butland denying the visitors a second minute opener. Home fans were having embolisms as Butland dallied on a John Souttar passback, resulting in him having his pocked picked by Miculescu, who left the goalkeeper in a heap as he turned the ball into the empty net. Di Bello spared Butland's blushes by blowing for a foul with the general consensus being that the Rangers No 1 got away with one.

Rangers celebrate Hamza Igamane's strike - his first for the club.placeholder image
Rangers celebrate Hamza Igamane's strike - his first for the club. | SNS Group

This was the antithesis of what Rangers produced at Rugby Park four days that had piled the pressure on to Clement. The Belgian made two changes - the fans would have made more. Mohamed Diomande and Robin Propper both dropped to the bench, with Nicolas Raskin and Leon Balogun promoted to the starting line-up.

Cerny was headline-grabber with two superb finishes - exorcising the demons of his sitter against Lyon three weeks ago - but the pair of buzzbombs in the middle of the park were the driving force behind the dominance Rangers enjoyed with the partnership of Nico Raskin and Connor Barron providing so much energy and bite it appeared as though there were three of them at times.

Rangers put Butland's aberration aside to make a positive start and it was lift-off via the right boot of Lawrence on 10 minutes. The Welshman stepped onto a cut-back from Cerny and although he appeared to scuff his shot into the ground, the bounce took it beyond the despairing dive of Tarnovanu.

Rangers remained on the front foot but Butland was required to brilliantly fingertip over the bar from a Luis Phelipe piledriver as he atoned for his earlier moment of panic. The response at the other end was emphatic from Cerny. The on-loan Wolfsburg winger pinched possession deep in Romanian territory before curling a dream of a strike into the far corner.

Rangers' James Tavernier fouls FCSB goalkeeper Stefan Tornovanu.placeholder image
Rangers' James Tavernier fouls FCSB goalkeeper Stefan Tornovanu. | SNS Group

The second half was equally pleasing from a Rangers perspective as they put the game to bed. Cerny got his second on 55 minutes, ruthlessly punishing FCSB on the break with a composed sidestep and finish before Igamane stepped off the bench to break his Rangers duck with neat footwork in the box before rolling a finish into the far corner after Barron had won the ball for the umpteenth time.

After a difficult week, Rangers can be delighted with how their evening panned out, both on and off the pitch. All eyes were on the Copland Stand after the ill-advised pyro display against Lyon three weeks ago which led to a £16,000 fine and a warning over escalating sanctions from UEFA as well as a rebuke from interim chairman John Bennett. Like Celtic supporters in Bergamo the previous evening, the Gers fans heeded the deterrent and left the fireworks at home. Take note SPFL.

Related topics:

Comments

 0 comments

Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.

Dare to be Honest
Follow us
© 2026 Iconic Media Group Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice