Rangers' disastrous season continued as Genk ran out deserved 1-0 winners in the Europa League at Ibrox to turn up the heat on head coach Russell Martin yet again.
The head coach had hoped to alleviate the pressure on his shoulders by claiming back-to-back victories as Rangers boss; however, when Mohamed Diomande was shown a straight red card for a tackle on Zakaria El Ouahdli, the apathetic Ibrox crowd could barely muster a grumble.
The home fans didn’t argue with the decision too much, outside of a few boos, as the attention turned back to their underperforming head coach. While he missed a penalty just before half-time, it was former Celtic forward Oh Hyeon-Gu who grabbed the game's opening goal for the away side, to add insult to injury.
The South Korean had an eventful return to Glasgow, missing several gilt-edged chances before and after his penalty, before he finally found a way past Butland in the home goal on 55 minutes. He’d have the ball in the net for a second time 20 minutes from time, though, VAR would rule it offside.
Rangers will now return to domestic action with a short visit to Livingston this Sunday (September 28), where Martin simply has to get his first league win as Gers manager - if he’s allowed to continue beyond tomorrow morning.
Here’s how The Scotsman rated the performance of each Rangers player in the 0-1 loss to Genk at Ibrox:
9. Djeidi Gassama - 5
Looks a little stale after his explosive start to life at Ibrox. Some nice touches, but his spark has dimmed a little. | PA Photo: PA
10. Mikey Moore - 3
Unlucky with an audacious drive after 11 minutes, but should have at least hit the target shortly afterwards when he fired a shot wide in the area. Outside of that, though, he looks completely lost at Rangers. Took off at half-time. | SNS Group Photo: SNS Group
11. Youssef Chermiti - 4
Put himself about a little, but was largely anonymous. Offered little. | SNS Group Photo: SNS Group
12. Rangers substitutes:
Oliver Antman - 4 (Came on at half-time, but offered absolutely nothing) Joe Rothwell - NA (Late sub) Bojan Miovski - NA (Late sub) Connor Barron - NA (Late sub) | PA