Rangers found a dramatic stoppage-time winner to finally secure their first Scottish Premiership win of the season at the sixth attempt, with substitute Max Aarons' late strike enough to down Livingston.
Read the full match report here
Have your say on Rangers' performance via this link
Image source, SNSRangers head coach Russell Martin tells BBC Scotland: "I'm really proud of the players, they deserved to win.
"Some of the football we played in the first half, we should have scored more goals and the game should have been done. We gave away a really poor goal because we lost control of the game in the second half and struggled to get it back. The players are fighting so hard for each other and the coaching staff and I think we got what we deserved in the end.
"The players feel so together and the first half showed that. The gap between the first half and the second half is too big so we need to learn from that but I really enjoyed some of the first half and I loved the character and spirit in the second.
"This job means the world to all of us that are here. We want to win. I'm just so happy for the players today, they're growing all the time and now we have to do it more consistently."
"We need to win a lot. They saw a team that's really fighting. I have nothing to say about that, I can't control any of that. I'm really pleased for the players and that's why I went down the tunnel so quickly because it's then aimed and me and it's not about me it's about the players.
"It's [character] not something I lack when you have the upbringing I have. I'm fortunate I have a high capacity for stress that's why I chose this job over others in the first place and now we have to make a difference by winning more games.
"We were great against Hibs for 70 minutes, today for 45 minutes and now we have to try and sustain that for longer periods. There will be loads of learning for the players and they can do it with a good feeling after winning a game now.
"We should have won a couple more games than we have by now but it needs to be the catalyst for us. Maybe a late goal will really galvanise everyone and we can kick on.
"We have a couple of knocks so we'll have to assess them in the next couple of days."
On the suggestion that Max Aarons' late winner has kept the boss in a job, Martin added: "I haven't felt like that at all. I can't answer that question because it's not relevant. He scored and I'm in a job.
Under pressure Rangers head coach Russell Martin's position is being assessed by the Ibrox hierarchy. (Give Me Sport), external
Rangers' midweek Europa League loss at home to Genk cost the Ibrox club around £1m in earnings. (Sun), external
Roma could face Rangers in the Europa League in Glasgow without travelling supporters following crowd trouble in the Italian club's recent win in Nice. (Sun), external
Tottenham could recall 18-year-old English winger Mikey Moore from his loan at Rangers in January. (Football Insider), external
On-loan Rangers winger Ross McCausland has scored in three successive games for Aris Limassol. (Scotsman - subscription required), external
Image source, SNSCammy Kerr, Cristian Montano and Aidan Denholm are set to remain sidelined for Livingston.
Rangers defender Max Aarons returns after being suspended for the Europa League defeat by Genk on Thursday night. Midfielder Lyall Cameron should be back next week and long-term absentees Rabbi Matondo (knee) and Dujon Sterling (Achilles) are in training but will not be involved any time soon.
Image source, SNSJayden Meghoma insists Rangers are "ready" for the challenge they face against Livingston on Sunday after a midweek disappointment in Europe.
The Ibrox side sustained their fifth loss in all competitions this season with a 1-0 home defeat by Genk in the Europa League, with Mohamed Diomande sent off in the first half.
"We didn't get the result we should've got, at the end of the day," Meghoma, 19 said.
"We did it to ourselves. Going to 10 men, it's quite hard to win a game like that."
Meghoma is on loan at Rangers this season from Brentford.
"I'm enjoying it but at the same I'm always focused on the next game," he explained. "As a team, as a whole we do need to focus on what we can do to get better.
"Every game has its different challenges and poses a different threat. We know we're coming up against [Livingston], we're ready for it. We know what we're going into on Sunday.
"We need to just win a game of football."
Image source, SNSLivingston are winless in their past 21 meetings with Rangers in all competitions (D2 L19) since a 1-0 league victory in September 2018. The Lions have scored just four goals in these last 21 clashes.
Rangers have won nine of their past 10 away games at Livingston in all competitions (D1), including their latest six in a row.
Livingston have lost three of their past four league games (D1), conceding 2+ goals in each of those defeats – including a 2-1 loss to Hearts in their last home match in the Scottish Premiership.
Rangers are winless in six league games (D5 L1), the joint-longest run in their entire history (level with six other runs of six, most recently in December 2005). The Ibrox side have also failed to win any of their opening five matches of a league campaign for only the second time, after 1978-79 (first six).
Rangers have the lowest xG per shot rate of any side in the Scottish Premiership so far this season (0.08), with their 66 shots resulting in an xG total of 5.6.
We asked for your views on Russell Martin's claims that Rangers are full of confidence and can still win the league.
Here's what some of you said:
Iain: So this is a confident team? God help us when their confidence goes. What is this guy on? What is it he seeing that the rest of us are missing? Never seen a team so disjointed and afraid in my life. What do they do at training? Laughing stock. Win the league? I think just now I would settle for a league win. Although it could be possible as last time Rangers won league there were no fans, it's going that way just now.
Bob: Martin is delusional. Anyone watching Thursday's game saw a team low on confidence and without a plan. Without Jack Butland it could have been 6-0. I think we might have a chance in the Championship next year.
Dougie: When you look at the players over the last few years who have come to Rangers, Aaron Ramsay, Amad Diallo, Max Aarons, Nasser Djiga, Joe Rothwell, they are all Premier League players, plus the long list of internationals from across numerous countries and leagues. What I want to know is what makes these players so bad up here? Is it Scottish football? Adapting to different style of play and pace or is there something inherently wrong at Rangers that turns quality/good players to dross? While on this subject I am wondering if Nicolas Raskin is really good or does he just stand out in this really, really abysmal Rangers team.
Jim: There is no confidence in this team, Martin is wearing rose tinted glasses. The only place we are getting is bottom of our league and hopeless in Europe. A lot of the existing players just don't seem to want to be there and play football. If they are scared, they should not even be in the squad. I would tell them no wages until you start to play for the team. They are dull and boring and I just wasted a lot of my money on a season ticket, it's time for Rangers to get rid of the dross we have in the team already.
Colin: Please just go Russell. He's living in a dream if he thinks he can still win the league. The team looks like mid-table at the best and is currently second bottom.
Alexander: This apology of a manager is seriously deluded. He has no idea how to manage a club of this size. His methods are not working, his style is slow, ponderous, boring and negative. He doesn't know how to motivate the team, players out of position and others that don't have the ability to play this style. He's lost the fan base already and there's no recovery from that. He should resign, failing that he should be sacked immediately.
David: I'm sorry but I really don't see where he's finding evidence for the comments he makes about the current situation. He's clearly out his depth from the evidence so far. The team look clueless and their body language is deafening as soon as they concede a goal! There is only one ultimate option and that's the immediate sacking of Martin, the worst manager in our history!
Barry Ferguson leaves the door open on a return to the Rangers manager's post. (Sun), external
Jack Herrall
BBC Sport Scotland
On his first start, Youssef Chermiti experienced the struggles and deficiencies of Rangers' stuttering start to the season in microcosm.
A lot was made of the Ibrox club's decision to sign the Everton striker for a reported £10m.
While he wasn't effective in front of goal as Rangers lost their Europa League opener 1-0 to Genk on Thursday evening, the 21-year-old showed signs of the fight many fans have been crying out for.
Mohamed Diomande's dismissal just before the interval meant the forward was starved of service, as he had been for much of the first half until then, but he remained a pest for Genk to deal with.
"If Youssef Chermiti was isolated before... dearie me," Rangers legend Ally McCoist said on TNT Sports after Diomande's red card, and the striker was indeed cutting a lonely figure after his side fell to 10 men.
Chermiti contested six aerial duels, twice as many as any other Rangers player, and won two of them. Thelo Aasgaard was the only other home player to win a battle in the air.
Only Djeidi Gassama (19) contested more total duels for Rangers than Chermiti (15), with the pair both winning possession back twice in the final third as Russell Martin's team huffed and puffed on another tumultuous night.
The former Sporting Lisbon striker will go down as the player to lose the most duels too, but his drive, pressing and endeavour will be refreshing for punters who have lamented their side's effort levels under head coach Russell Martin.
Only one of his 25 touches came in the opposition's box, but that is arguably a symptom of a side who have laboured in the final third and struggled to fashion opportunities under Martin.
Despite having no chances to take for himself, Chermiti did create one for his team before being replaced by Bojan Miovski with 10 minutes to go.
No summer signings at Ibrox have shone so far and Chermiti will hope to be provided with more than meagre scraps as he looks to prove himself.
Image source, SNSThelo Aasgaard says Rangers must "keep to our principles" despite a fifth defeat of the season in all competitions.
Rangers lost their opening Europa League fixture 1-0 at home to Genk to increase the pressure on head coach Russell Martin, whose side were unable to follow up the League Cup quarter-final victory over Hibs with another win.
"We're all hugely disappointed," said Norway midfielder Aasgaard, 23. "We really wanted to carry on the momentum from the last game. No one's happy with the result.
"We created some good chances. We could've been a bit more clinical. It's always tough but I think when we went down to 10 men, we still pushed and we had a few chances towards the end but it feels like a missed opportunity.
"We've got to just try and focus on what we've been working on on the training pitch. The frustration of the fans, that's understandable.
"We've to try and not feel the pressure and keep to our principles. I'm never going to back down from a challenge. This is a big challenge and I'm not going to back down."
Rangers played the end of the first half and all of the second a player down after Mohamed Diomande's red card following a rash tackle on Zakaria El Ouahdi.
"It's split second decision from him," Aasgaard said. "I'm sure he'll regret going in like that.
"Football, it's easy from the outside to see. He's an aggressive player, naturally, so he wants to make them challenges. Obviously, he's disappointed and we try to back him up."
Image source, SNSWe asked for your views after 10-man Rangers began their Europa League campaign with a home defeat by Genk.
Here are some of your comments:
Colin: Russell Martin needs to go now, his tactics just aren't working and he has run out of excuses.
Greig: Another European night, another red card, another 10-man slog, another hard watch, another loss. Some of the summer signings tried, others didn't. I'd play Findlay Curtis well before both Mikey Moore and Oliver Antman. Martin is so stubborn, it better be the death of him as manager here at Rangers sooner rather than later.
Steven: All I read from this manager is the team learning a lot, yet performances remain flat and woeful. Genk had the better chances before the red card. Saying that, Mohamed Diomande has let everyone down with his stupidity. The atmosphere was flat, largely down to the fans having lost belief in this team and manager sadly.
Gerry: How the mighty fall, we have never really recovered from our relegation into the lower tier of Scottish football. We had hopes under this new regime of moving forward, but alas it's just not going to happen and maybe the sooner we accept that the better even for our own sanity. Changes need to be made, and soon.
Jane: Absolutely disgraceful that this guy even got an interview never mind the job. Rangers deserve a top-class manager who has actually won stuff after the last 15 crazy years.
John: Same again, no direction in a mediocre team. When will the club face facts? The team needs change, as do the coaching staff. Rock-bottom performance, totally disagree with the manager's post-match thoughts. He is accountable for this disaster, but won't face up to it being his team and style of play.
Margaret: We've had some really memorable European nights at Ibrox in recent years. This wasn't one of them. Same old pedestrian play, some players looked out of position. Martin's tactics are all wrong. I didn't want him as manager, but was prepared to give him a chance, he's had enough chances now and if he was a decent man, he'd walk.
Image source, SNSFormer Rangers midfielder Scott Arfield on TNT Sports
In transition it looked as if Genk could have scored a few more goals. It felt almost inevitable Oh was going to put one in the back of the net. Rangers are not in a great place and the performance embodied that.
It's a crowd now who are so disillusioned with what's going on here.
Former Rangers striker Rory Loy on BBC's Scottish football podcast
You don't see any signs of really what Russell Martin is trying to implement. He talks about dominating the ball and having possession, but it isn't with any great purpose.
John Souttar and Derek Cornelius must pass the ball to each other I don't know how many times without it actually going up the pitch.
Ex-Rangers striker Steven Thompson on BBC Sportsound
The onus has to be on the players as well. The transfer of the ball through the thirds is so laborious. The supporters are urging the players to do things quicker, and they're just not.
Everything is so predictable and so slow in the build-up that it's easy to defend against. How long are we going to keep hearing 'We're going to get there' for?
Former Rangers midfielder Derek Ferguson on BBC Sportsound
Rangers went down with a whimper. The feeling within the stadium is there is no belief from the players.
There is no evidence in that performance that Rangers are getting there. Genk were going through the motions, they were in control, even if Rangers kept 11 men on the field. Fans can't keep coming to watch a Rangers side accept defeat like that.
There is a way of winning, and a way of losing. That's not the way you lose a football game.
Ex-Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday on BBC Sportsound
Rangers didn't make Genk defend at any point. It was another underwhelming performance. I'm not seeing enough that suggests there's going to be an improvement by the time they travel to Sturm Graz in two weeks two.
Former Rangers striker Ally McCoist on TNT Sports
With the greatest respect, Genk are bang average. Rangers didn't pose them anywhere near enough problems. Previous Rangers sides would've wiped the floor with them.
Image source, SNSRangers have failed to score in their past four games in the Europa League, their longest run without a goal in the competition (since at least 2005-2006).
Rangers have failed to win their past four Europa League matches, their last joint longest winless streak was from 11 March 2021 to 30 September 2021.
Rangers have won just four of their 14 matches across all competitions this season (D5 L5), with this their fewest wins at this stage of a campaign in their history and their most defeats at this stage since 1994-95 under Walter Smith when they lost six in their first 14.
Genk recorded their first victory against British opposition in major European competition in what was their seventh attempt, losing four and drawing two of those matches previously.
Since May 2024, Jack Butland has faced six penalties across all competitions for Rangers (excl. shootouts) and saved five of them, with the only exception being an Oisin Smyth goal for St Mirren in December 2024.
Since the beginning of the 2018-19 season, only Lazio and Ludogorets Razgrad (both 8) have been shown more red cards than Rangers (7) in the Europa League.
After failing to net in all six previous appearances across all competitions against Rangers during his time with Celtic, Oh Hyeon-Gyu both missed a penalty and scored the winner for Genk in his seventh game against the Ibrox men.
James Tavernier moved into outright third for starts in major European competition for Rangers (61), ahead of Barry Ferguson (60) and behind only Allan McGregor (78) and John Greig (62).
Image source, PA MediaRangers head coach Russell Martin has overseen four wins in 14 games
Rangers head coach Russell Martin confirmed he will hold talks with chairman Andrew Cavenagh in the wake of Thursday's 1-0 loss to Genk. (Herald - subscription required), external
Kris Boyd believes former club Rangers must look for a new manager to replace Martin following Thursday's Europa League defeat at Ibrox. (Sun), external
Rangers are exploring the market for alternatives to Martin following supporter protests. (Football Insider), external
Former Rangers striker Ally McCoist criticises the officials for not awarding Martin's side a first-half penalty against Genk. (Sun), external
David Martindale hopes to add Martin to the list of managers who lost their first trip to Livingston, including Steven Gerrard, Neil Lennon and Ange Postecoglou, with Rangers in West Lothian on Sunday. (Record), external
Martin Dowden
BBC Sport Scotland at Ibrox
Image source, SNSGenk striker Oh Hyeon-gyu celebrates his winner against Rangers at Ibrox
Genk match winner Oh Hyeon-gyu admits it was a "dream" to score at Ibrox against Rangers after his strike earned the visitors a 1-0 Europa League victory.
The former Celtic striker had an eventful evening on his return to Scotland, during which Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland saved his penalty, he somehow missed from eight yards when clean through, and had one ruled out for offside.
"It is one of my best, it was dream to score in Ibrox," said the forward, who scored 12 goals in 47 Celtic appearances a couple of seasons ago. "It's special for me."
The South Korean revealed his side came to Glasgow believing they could win despite lying 14th in the Belgian top flight.
"Yes, because we were preparing very well this week. We believe us, we believe our team, we believe our process, so we did it, we did very good."
Rangers' abject start to the season continued as former Celtic striker Oh Hyeon-gyu's goal - and Mohamed Diomande's first-half dismissal - helped Genk to a 1-0 Europa League win at Ibrox.
Read the full match report here
Have your say on the game via this link
Image source, SNSRangers goalkeeper Jack Butland: "It's obviously not the way we wanted to start the competition at all.
"There were some bright moments to start with, but obviously we've gone down to 10, given away some opportunities, and in Europe, playing against teams with 10 men is difficult.
"In saying that, we didn't go under, we didn't fall apart, but not enough good stuff there tonight. Not enough opportunities created, and ultimately we concede a poor goal in a game where they didn't threaten us all that much or cut us open.
"So it's an opportunity we missed, for sure."
Image source, SNSRangers head coach Russell Martin: "I'm disappointed we lost.
"The red card changed the game a lot. I was looking forward to getting to half-time and getting a few key points across.
"We didn't look after the ball anywhere near well enough. We defended too deep but I thought we rode that out. We looked like we were getting a bit of control back but then [Mohamed] Diomande gets sent off.
"I asked them to be really aggressive after the sending off, not just try and defend for 45 minutes. Genk didn't cut us open, we weren't defending relentlessly. I'm frustrated, the red card changed a lot but I'm proud of the players in the second half.
"I think we should have had a penalty [for handball]. I don't think [James] Tavernier affects the defender. I thought when the referee went to the screen he was giving a penalty to us.
"The longer the game goes on, if we actually dominate the ball, we create a lot more. We'll get there.
"We had 10 men for a long time, I think Jack [Butland] only had two saves to make in the second half so the red card changes a lot. I thought we had some really good performances."
When asked what gave him the belief they can turn things around, Martin adds: "The way the players train, the way they stuck together in the second half, the feeling in the training ground. I can't control. anything outside of that.
We will work, learn from tonight but also have a bit of perspective then get ready to prepare and perform and win on Saturday."
On whether he still has the support of the club to continue as manager, he says: "I don't think the game tonight, when we were down to 10 men for so long, changes that.
"I feel nothing but support from them."
