Nick Ware

Thu 18 March 2021 22:53, UK

Rangers were sent crashing out of Europe on Thursday as Slavia Prague swept them aside 2-0 in a fiercely-contested clash at Ibrox.

Steven Gerrard sprung a few surprises with his line-up as Filip Helander made way for Leon Balogun while Ianis Hagi made way for Scott Arfield.

Just as in Prague, Rangers got off to a poor start as Peter Olayinka opened the scoring on 14 minutes before the match descended into a card frenzy.

Kemar Roofe came on early in the second-half but only lasted seven minutes before being handed his marching orders for a shocking high challenge on Slavia goalkeeper Ondrej Kolar before Balogun’s second yellow sent them down to nine men.

Nicolae Stanciu made it two in two against the Light Blues with a delightful free-kick to dump them out of the Europe League at the last 16 stage.

Here is how Ibrox News rated their Ibrox efforts on a hugely disappointing night.

Allan McGregor 5 – After last week’s heroics he will be disappointed with his role in Olayinka’s opener. He sets such high standards that just getting a hand on it will not be enough for him.

Nathan Patterson 7 – Probably the standout star for Gers as he came of age once again in Europe. Some brilliant barnstorming runs that, while not matched by a finish, showed his growing confidence as a member of this starting XI.

Leon Balogun 3 – Sent off. Gerrard got this one wrong. Preferred to Helander for his natural athleticism but looked nervy and was booked early on. Compounded a bad first-half with an awful second as he was handed his marching orders for a second yellow.

Connor Goldson 5 – Not quite as bad as his partner but struggled to hold the defence together as he so usually does.

Borna Barisic 5 – Didn’t manage to get forward as much as he would have liked and this tie was not as kind to him as the Royal Antwerp clashes were. Set-pieces were a disappointment.

Steven Davis 6 – Let down by some of those behind him and was swamped in midfield by Slavia’s energetic bunch. Hopefully that will not be the last we see of Davis in Europe.

Glen Kamara 6 – Harshly booked in the first-half after winning the ball first. Probably the best midfielder but that wasn’t saying much.

Scott Arfield 5 – Looked rusty on his return to the starting XI after consecutive substitute outings before being taken off early into the second period.

Joe Aribo 5 – Off the pace tonight as he failed to show his usual silky skills, this time from the right as he was pushed into a more offensive role instead of Ianis Hagi.

Ryan Kent 6 – Probably the biggest Gers threat in the first-half with his pace and direct running but faded out of proceedings.

Alfredo Morelos 6 – Lively at times in the first half but was pretty much anonymous throughout but that is as much down to his teammates as himself. His hot streak in Europe came to a crashing finale at Ibrox.

Subs

Kemar Roofe 3 – Where do we start? He was only on the pitch for seven minutes but certainly made an impact. Unfortunately, that impact was on the goalkeeper’s head as he made a truly shocking challenge that resulted in his early dismissal. He let down Gerrard big time tonight.

Jack Simpson N/A

Bongani Zungi N/A

Cedric Itten N/A

Scott Wright N/A

In other Rangers news, 22y/o outcast set to depart Ibrox this month.