Rangers ratings vs Club Brugge: Max Aarons 0/10 as one teammate wows with 7/10
Rangers suffered a humiliating defeat in Belgium, losing 6-0 to Club Brugge.
Russell Martin’s side were 3-1 down from the first leg, meaning they had a mountain to climb. They lost 9-1 on aggregate.
Whatever game plan Rangers might have had was likely thrown out the window after five minutes when Club Brugge took the lead.
The writing was on the wall for Rangers when Max Aarons was sent off for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity after eight minutes.
Club Brugge quickly put the tie to bed. It was 5-0 at half-time. Thankfully, the Belgian took it easier on their opponents in the second half, only scoring once more.
Jack Butland made some fantastic saves to keep the score down
Nicolo Tresoldi, Hans Vanaken, Joaquin Seys (2) and Aleksandar Stankovic scored in the first half.
Jack Butland couldn’t have done anything about any of them. All of Brugges’ were rifled into the net.
The English goalkeeper actually made several fantastic saves in the first half to limit the score to 5-0.
Brugge scored again within five minutes of the second half starting, but Butland kept the Belgians at bay a couple more times before the full-time whistle.
Max Aarons has some serious questions to answer
There were already questions being asked of Max Aarons before this game.
The right-back was signed on loan from Bournemouth in the summer, and hadn’t done much to endear himself to the Rangers faithful.
He won’t be among his teammates after getting himself sent off after eight minutes. It was an unnecessary and foolish decision. It was the catalyst for this humiliation in Belgium.
Aarons was still available for the Old Firm Derby at the weekend, but many Rangers fans won’t want to see him anywhere near the team.
His red card meant that Rangers had to shuffle their formation. Oliver Antman was withdrawn almost immediately after the decision, with James Tavernier taking his place.
Aarons will be leaving Ibrox at the end of the season. It’s looking less likely that Martin will be there to wave him goodbye.
Rangers ratings vs Club Brugge
Butland – 7
Aarons – 0
Djiga – 3
Souttar – 4
Meghoma – 4
Rothwell – 3
Aasgaard – 4
Cameron – 4
Gassama – 3
Danilo – 3
Antman – 1
Substitutes
Tavernier (11′ for Antman) – 5
Diomande (45′ for Rothwell) – 5
Curtis (45′ for Aasgaard) – 5
Raskin (45′ for Gassama) – 5