‘This is a joke’ – Tom English slaughters Rangers, takes aim at one player in particular
Rangers’ Champions League ambitions took a major hit on Tuesday after a 3-1 defeat against Club Brugge.
The Gers went into the match just two matches away from qualification. However, an awful first-half performance saw the hosts 3-0 down.
While Danilo did pull a goal back in the second period, the Glaswegians will now go into the second leg with a massive task on their hands.
Rangers’ defending under Russell Martin has been scrutinised throughout his reign, and now Tom English has slammed their performance.
Nasser Djiga named and shamed over Rangers clanger
Rangers were exposed multiple times against Club Brugge.
Nasser Djiga made another awful mistake for Rangers just three minutes in, which opened the floodgates at Ibrox.
After 19 minutes, the Gers were 3-0 down, and could have found themselves further behind multiple times.
- Martin is already under heavy pressure at Rangers
- Many of the Ibrox fanbase walked out after the third goal
- Rangers are currently set to be relegated to the Europa League
Speaking at half-time, BBC Sport Scotland’s chief sports writer English was appalled by the display, labelling the performance as a “joke”.
He told BBC Sport on 19 August: “Rangers look like a pub team at the back.
“Nasser Djiga just gives up for the first goal. It’s hard to remember defending as bad as this.
“This is a joke of a performance.”
How bad was Rangers’ defence vs Club Brugge?
Many Rangers players will want to forget their performance against Club Brugge.
According to Fotmob on 19 August, Jack Butland, Max Aarons and Djiga were awful, with the latter picking up a dreadful 5.4 rating.
| Nasser Djiga vs Club Brugge | |
| Tackles won | 0 |
| Errors leading to goals | 1 |
| Dribbled past | 1 |
| Defensive contributions | 1 |
| Passing completion | 93% |
| Rating | 5.4 |
If Rangers are to do anything this season, Martin has to fix his backline.
If not, the Scotsman could face the sack within weeks, with the Rangers seemingly relying on a Jack Butland masterclass if they are to win.
Sign up for the Ibrox News WhatsApp channel and turn on notifications to have all the latest, breaking Rangers news sent straight to your phone.