Rangers defence in rude awakening as Kyogo Furuhashi stat emerges in 1-0 loss v Celtic
Rangers ended a miserable week with a 1-0 loss to fierce Glasgow rivals Celtic at Ibrox on Sunday (3 September).
It follows the club’s exit from the Champions League after their 7-3 aggregate defeat to Dutch side PSV in the play-off round.
Both fortunately and unfortunately, the Gers now have some time to recover both physically and mentally due to the upcoming international break.
Beale will want some time to gather his thoughts, but he will also be desperate to get his men back on the pitch in order to pick up a much-needed win.
Rangers certainly had their chances to win the match against the Bhoys, but it wasn’t meant to be, with striker Kemar Roofe denied a first-half opener due to a foul in the build-up.
Other than that disallowed goal, the Gers attackers misfired at Ibrox, but the defenders also had an afternoon to forget as they failed to track Celtic’s Kyogo Furuhashi, who fired in the only goal of the game in first-half stoppage time.
It will be bitterly disappointing for Beale that his side conceded right before the break, but even more frustrating will be the fact that Kyogo had just nine touches during his 76 minutes on the pitch [OptaJoe, via BBC Sport, 3 September].
Switching off and losing focus happens in football, but as the Celtic forward showed, it really does come at a massive cost in such big games.
It might leave Beale pondering his acquisitions this summer, with the manager largely focusing on attacking reinforcements.
In other Rangers news, the Gers have won a legal battle as overseas news emerges, an appeal can happen.