Nasser Djiga and Emmanuel Fernandez surely set for more Rangers misery as scary Ferencvaros stat emerges
Nasser Djiga and Emmanuel Fernandez quickly need to improve when Rangers take on a physical Ferencvaros side on Thursday.
Djiga joined Rangers on a loan deal from Wolves and has struggled with life at Ibrox so far, while Fernandez’s £3.5million move from Peterborough raised several eyebrows in the summer.
Injuries to John Souttar and Derek Cornelius have left Danny Rohl needing to rely on two players who have come under intense criticism in Govan.
Ferencvaros are unbeaten in the Europa League this season, and it is thanks to how impressive striker Barnabas Varga has been in the competition.
Barnabas Varga’s form spells trouble for the Rangers defence
The Hungarian striker has scored 69 goals in 109 appearances for Ferencvaros since he signed for them in July 2023.
Since the start of last season, Varga has scored 10 Europa League goals, the highest figure of any other player.
He has also found the back of the net with headed goals on three occasions in that time, once again topping the competition’s scoring charts.
| Stat | Varga |
| Appearances | 26 |
| Goals | 19 |
| Assists | 2 |
The 31-year-old’s missed penalty against RB Salzburg on 23 October is perhaps his only blemish on what has been an otherwise spotless record in Europe.
Varga has been on fire in 2025-26, and Djiga has specifically been exposed for failing to deal with crosses ahead of the trip to Budapest on 11 December.
Djiga was slammed for his mistake against Braga, failing to clear a simple flick-on with his head, allowing Gabri Martinez to equalise.
As for Fernandez, he only managed two appearances in four months before being recalled to the starting line-up out of necessity in recent weeks.
Danny Rohl is facing his worst-case scenario at Rangers
As a new manager coming into a completely dysfunctional side, the first thing you need to establish is a way to stop the team from conceding goals.
Rohl has been unable to mould his spine of the team in the way that he wishes due to his two starting centre-backs being injured.
In the 2-2 draw to Dundee United, Fernandez was completely outpaced by winger Zachary Sapsford for the first goal, failing to use his body to put him off the shot.
There are countless examples of Djiga’s mistakes for the Bears, most notably his disastrous performance in the 6-0 loss to Club Brugge on 27 August.
Both defenders are coming up against an elite striker at this level, and there is no room for any mistakes.
Otherwise, Rangers can wave goodbye to the Europa League against the Hungarian champions.
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