Rangers

Rangers fans, what did you make of your side's performance as they narrowly beat Hibs at Ibrox?

Have your say on the game here, external.

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Jack Butland. The Rangers goalkeeper made four saves, including the stop from Mykola Kuharevich's penalty.

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Philippe Clement cut a frustrated figure throughout the first half in particular, having started Hamza Igamane, Jefte, Nicolas Raskin and Ross McCausland - who scored against Malmo off the bench - in an attempt to keep his squad fresh.

They failed to create any chances of note though, and it took a moment of magic to find a way to goal.

Hibs found joy down the sides and in behind, and as they often have in the past year or so, Rangers needed heroics from their goalkeeper.

The Belgian manager showed his discontent with a double change at half-time, with Raskin and McCausland both hooked.

Misplaced passes and a lack of intensity led to increased consternation from the home support as the second half wore on.

It felt like Clement's side were going through the motions. There was no real zip to them and they are still to prove they can produce consistently high levels of performance.

After the high at Malmo in midweek, this felt like a missed opportunity to build momentum, despite the result.

Rangers had fewer touches in the opposition box than Hibs, and had a lower xG tally than the visitors, highlighting their lack of cutting edge and attacking threat.

The introduction of Cyriel Dessers in the second half provided a much-needed presence up front, and he must have thought he had scored late on, only to see Josef Bursik almost miraculously parry his header to safety.

They are back in European action on Thursday, as they welcome Europa League opponents Lyon to Ibrox (20:00 BST).

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Rangers manager Philippe Clement: "The performance was not incredible, but that's difficult playing that early after a European game away.

"The recovery time was much less. Some leagues look at giving teams more recovery time. I saw less freshness in the players than I have in the last couple of weeks. That's normal."

On Hibs' penalty, Rangers' manager adds: "Unhappy is not the right word - more confused. We discussed this with the referees before the season. The decisions have been much better, but I don't see what John [Souttar] can do differently. It's a short distance. He cannot make his arms disappear."

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Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Souttar, Propper, Jefte, Barron, Raskin, McCausland, Lawrence, Cerny, Igamane.

Substitutes: Kelly, Dessers, Bajrami, Dowell, Sterling, Kasanwirjo, Balogun, Fraser, McKinnon.

Hibernian: Bursik, Miller, Ekpiteta, O'Hora, Obita, Kwon, Triantis, C. Cadden, Campbell, Hoilett, Kuharevich.

Substitutes: Smith, Levitt, Youan, Iredale, McKirdy, Moriah-Welsh, Bushiri, Gayle, Molotnikov.

Ciprian Marica, who is a shareholder in Farul Constanța alongside Ianis Hagi's father, Gheorghe, claims it is 100% Rangers manager Philippe Clement's decision to freeze the Romania midfielder out of his first-team because one more appearance will trigger a wage rise for the 25-year-old. (DigiSport), external

Plymouth Argyle winger Morgan Whittaker has responded to reports suggesting interest from Rangers saying he is happy to be playing regularly with the Championship club and would only move if it was to a higher level. (Western Morning News via Daily Record), external

Read Sunday's Scottish Gossip in full here.

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Rangers winger Ross McCausland has praised the club's coaching staff for improving his weaker foot after netting the second goal in Thursday's 2-0 Europa League win over Malmo.

The Northern Ireland international was a second-half substitute in Sweden and made an immediate impact, scoring with just his fourth touch of the ball.

The 21-year-old now has six goals for the club since breaking into the first-team last October.

"It was with my left foot, which is something that myself, the manager and Alex Rae have been working on for months since coming into the first-team set-up," McCausland said.

"It's something that he's big on for myself, coming inside from the opposite side onto my non-stronger foot.

"I can see the progress over the last few months and I feel a lot more comfortable. It's helpful to be able to add that to my game.

"There are a lot of things in my game now that he's brought into my game. To be able to go out into these games and bring these things that I've been working makes it all worth it.

"It's my second goal in the competition, so I'm delighted to be able to contribute to the game tonight.

"All the lads have worked so hard over the past few days and it's amazing to come on and give a boost to the team."

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Jack Butland is full of admiration for "unflappable character" James Tavernier and the Rangers goalkeeper insists the Ibrox captain is a key player for the club's "huge ambitions".

Tavernier, now in his 10th season with Rangers, was the subject of criticism in the wake of a 3-0 loss at Celtic.

Since then Rangers have won three in a row, including an impressive 2-0 Europa League success away to Malmo in Sweden on Thursday.

"He is someone that always stands up," said Butland of Tavernier. "But as a captain of a football club like this, it’s not an easy thing to do.

"What he's done year-on-year, game-on-game, is come back through thick and thin, through really difficult moments.

"We've seen and witnessed some of the things that he’s been subject to. That’s part and parcel of being captain of this football club, but to come back and to keep doing what he does, to keep performing for us, to put the team on his shoulders with the penalties, with his play in general and what he does around the team.

"I can only imagine what he has to deal with, but what he does is perform. He keeps coming back and he keeps helping us and he keeps leading us.

"He lives it and he’s lived it for a long time. But it has to be like water off a duck’s back. Tav is a very unflappable character. You see very little change in him day to day.

"He knows what he’s got to do, he knows the responsibility of wearing the badge, wearing the armband.

"We’ve got to continue to support him, he’s still going to have massive moments in this football club. We’ve got huge ambitions for this season and he's always a huge part of that."

Rangers captain James Tavernier, now in his 10th season at Ibrox, insists he still has "a lot to achieve" at the Glasgow club. (Sky Sports), external

Former Ibrox captain Barry Ferguson is heartened by Rangers' response to their Old Firm derby loss and was happy to see "desire and a drive" in the win away to Malmo. (Daily Record), external

Read the rest of Saturday's Scottish gossip.

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Rangers defender Jefte returns from suspension and Hamza Igamane is available after red tape prevented him from being involved against Malmo. Danilo, Oscar Cortes, Rabbi Matondo and Ridvan Yilmaz remain out.

Hibernian are set to include recent signing Dwight Gayle for the first time. Captain Joe Newell (groin) and Martin Boyle (hand) are both doubtful while Kieron Bowie (hamstring) is out along with Jake Doyle-Hayes who is still working on his fitness after more than a year out.

Sunday brings together two managers who, in three games since respective defeats at Celtic Park, have eased some of the pressure they were under.

David Gray's Hibs followed last month's 3-1 loss with two draws then a 2-0 win at home to troubled St Johnstone.

Philippe Clement's Rangers, meanwhile, have done even better since their 3-0 derby drubbing - recording three consecutive wins, culminating in Thursday's impressive 2-0 Europa League victory in Sweden.

The Belgian's side also advanced to the Premier Sports Cup semi-finals with a convincing 3-0 defeat of Dundee last weekend.

Hibs were not involved in the quarter-finals and will hope their two-week rest during a busy period for their hosts will compensate for a pretty miserable recent record against Rangers.

The Edinburgh side have lost seven in a row against their Glasgow counterparts since a 2-2 draw at Easter Road in August 2022, conceding 22 goals and scoring only five in the process.

That is the only game Rangers have failed to win in 10 meetings without defeat since Hibs progressed to the League Cup final with a 3-1 success at Hampden in November 2021.

Indeed, Hibs have failed to win at Ibrox in 11 visits since a 2-1 victory in February 2018, with Rangers winning the past 10.

Given that Celtic and Aberdeen could both have stretched their lead over third-top Rangers to eight points by kick-off on Sunday, another win will be seen as a must by the Ibrox support and Hibs will look to take advantage of any added pressure Saturday's results might bring.

Read all of this weekend's Premiership picks here.

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Rangers defender Neraysho Kasanwirjo praised the "togetherness" of his team after his first start for the club.

The versatile Dutch defender, who arrived at Ibrox on a season-long loan from Feyenoord on deadline day, helped his new team earn a third consecutive clean sheet as they beat Malmo 2-0 in Thursday's Europa League opener.

"It was good to come into the team because everyone is all together and that was good to see," Kasanwirjo, 22, told Rangers TV.

"The manager told me to play my game and that the team would help me. It was just about doing my thing, not being nervous, and that was the message from the coach.

"I already know Robin [Propper] from the Dutch competition. Soapy (John Souttar) helped me as well, [captain James] Tavernier too, and the midfielders as well. It was good to come into the team and everyone is one. We all help each other.

"It's been an easy dressing room to settle into. Everyone fits in, so it's good. We train really hard. You can see in the games that we can become better and better, and this is what we need.

"We’re one team and everyone is involved. That’s the most important thing and the supporters gave us energy as well."

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• Nedim Bajrami scored after just 0:56, the fastest goal in the Europa League this season.

• Malmo failed to attempt a shot on target, the first such occurrence in a game in the Europa League since facing Union Berlin in October 2022.

• Rangers won a game in European competition against Swedish opposition at the seventh attempt (D2 L4).

• At 38 years and 18 days, Johan Dahlin is the oldest player to feature for Malmo in a major European match in the 21st century, and their oldest ever in the Uefa Cup/Europa League.

We asked for your thoughts after Rangers comfortably beat Malmo 2-0 in their Europa League opener on Thursday.

Here's what you had to say...

Peter: Sterling performance from everyone. The pace and the tempo rattled them quick. They didn't know how to handle us first half. If Europa league is our forte then that's fair enough just now. A wee mention to Connor Barron, AKA the new Barry Ferguson in the making.

John: Brilliant bears! The new signings Propper, Kasanwirjo, Bajrami are all looking good. Well done to young Ross McCausland too. No one gave us a chance. Superb. Where's the final?

Martin: Well done guys, very comfortable performance. Especially away from home in Europe, which is always a bonus at any time during the season. Lots of positives to take away from tonight's performance, three wins and three clean sheets. Let's kick on from this result, we will get stronger with more players coming back from injury.

Raymond: Credit to Rangers for what could be a crucial win at the league phase's conclusion. Away from home against the Swedish champions-in-waiting and they really did boss it. Yes, there were glaring misses but we kept a clean sheet and took the win. Rangers' performances are slowly getting there. The Celtic game maybe came just too early in Clement's rebuild.

Allan: A commanding performance from Rangers, only slightly marred by the lack of goals as so many chances were missed. A solid display by the defence and some slick passing moves made this comfortable on the night. The only time Malmo looked dangerous was when they pressed Rangers just after half-time, which could highlight a weakness in the Rangers defence.

Andrew: Was a decent performance tonight away from home against a side we have always struggled against. I thought John Souttar defended very well tonight, but the amount of very good chances we missed is worrying. Should have been out of sight by half-time.

Christopher: Extremely encouraging performance, albeit against a surprisingly disappointing team. Should have been 6-0 if all chances had been taken. But above all I liked the work rate of every single Ranger... and Tavernier was an inspiration.

David: Superb performance! Spine of the team were immense and so was Dessers up top. Diomande and Barron were impressive, through to Propper and Souttar too. We need to build on this performance and kick on. At last, something to smile about.

Lennie: Great performance by the whole team, apart from missing several easy chances. The team were outstanding! Diomande covered every blade of grass, Souttar and Propper were great defensively, we are going in the right direction but we must build on this performance.

Peter: One major comment on last night’s performance is to stop all the negativity. Rangers won away from home against reasonable opponents but still there are those stating the finishing could be better. However, they won and that doesn’t matter to some. Get behind the team and voice your support, not your criticism. Well done Rangers.

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Philippe Clement is building "partnerships" and "chemistry" throughout his Rangers team, according to The Athletic's Jordan Campbell.

The Ibrox club comfortably defeated Malmo 2-0 in their opening Europa League match of this campaign on Thursday.

Manager Clement's starting XI featured five summer signings, with deadline day arrival Nedim Bajrami netting the opener.

"It could have really been four, five or six-nil, which I don't think many people were expecting going into the game," Campbell told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"Rangers look so much more organised defensively too.

"There was chemistry between Bajrami and [Cyriel] Dessers. [Vaclav] Cerny was good coming off the right. [Connor] Barron and [Mohamed] Diomande too, could that be a partnership that they can build on?

"Even [Jack] Butland has kept three clean sheets in a row.

"You look at [Robin] Propper and [John] Souttar, are they finally now getting that consistency together?

"So, all of a sudden, Clement looks like he's maybe building partnerships across the pitch, which you can start to really build a way of playing on."

Martin Dowden
BBC Scotland in Malmo

Robin Propper believes Rangers are on the right track after a challenging period, having secured a 2-0 win over Malmo in Sweden in their Europa League opener.

Ross McCausland ensured victory with a late second to add to Nedim Bajrami’s first-minute opener to seal a dominant performance that ensured a third successive win and clean sheet.

"We want to show what we can do on European nights," Propper, 31, told BBC Scotland.

"We have a good team to do that. You have to prove that. I think we did. We had a lot of good chances to make maybe more goals than two. We were defending really well. It was really solid."

Rangers did indeed pass up several glaring chances on a night when the scoreline could have been far healthier as they secured a first ever win on Swedish soil.

Propper insists time is a key factor in allowing recent signings to gel into the squad and the results of that are showing.

"We had a lot of new players," he explained.

"For me as well it was really new. We had to train together to feel how everybody is on the field and as a person, so it takes some time.

"We had a really difficult game against Celtic but from then on you learn.

"The results came one by one and you improve. It’s really important we improve day by day. We are a team that want to do that.

"It’s started now to feel more comfortable. You see it in the games."

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• Rangers have won each of their past six league meetings with Hibernian, last winning more in a row versus Hibs in May 2005 under Alex McLeish (11). At Ibrox, Rangers have won their past 10 in a row against Hibs.

• Hibernian are winless in 22 league meetings with Rangers (D6 L16) since a 2-1 victory in February 2018 under Neil Lennon.

• Rangers have won each of their past three matches at Ibrox in all competitions by an aggregate score of 11-0. Rangers last won four straight home games without conceding from November 2021 to February 2022 under Giovanni van Bronkchorst (run of nine).

• Hibs have only won one of their past 12 away league outings (D7 L4), a 3-1 victory at St Johnstone in April last season.

• Cyriel Dessers has scored four goals in his past three home league games; the only players to score in four successive Scottish Premiership appearances at Ibrox for Rangers since their promotion in 2016 are former players Alfredo Morelos (twice), Antonio Colak and Todd Cantwell.

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Malmo head coach Henrik Rydstrom commented, "I'm obviously stupid" as he came to regret his pre-match comments about Rangers, with his side going down 2-0 to the Scottish team in the Europa League. (Sun), external

Manager Philippe Clement believes Rangers' win in Sweden is their best result of the season but hopes they can improve further. (Record), external

Rangers captain James Tavernier says is "a strong character" after being asked about a confrontation with a supporter in the wake of the Ibrox side's recent loss at Celtic Park. (Sun), external

Hibernian "can't have fear" as they travel to face Rangers on Sunday, says head coach David Gray. (Record), external

Gray aims to give his Hibs players "belief" for their trip to Ibrox. (Scotsman - subscription), external

Read Friday's Scottish gossip

Rangers secured an invaluable victory in their Europa League opener in Malmo as they earned a first-ever win on Swedish soil.

It was a dream and decisive start. Inside 60 seconds, Cyriel Dessers broke in behind, rounded Johan Dahlin in goal, and struck the base of the post from an angle.

Nedim Bajrami was alert and, as the ball rolled perfectly into his path, he gleefully stroked home his first Rangers goal.

And, after several spurned opportunities to make their dominance pay, Ross McCausland eventually sealed the win for Rangers in the second half.

What did you make of Rangers performance? Was it their best of the season so far? – have your say here, external.

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Rangers manager Philippe Clement: "It could have been perfection if we scored three goals in the first half like we deserved.

"It's not errors. It's part of football. Even the best players in the world do not score with every chance. It is important we create and the players are more decisive.

"I think Ross [McCausland] is a really good example. A few months ago, he did not have any power or any quality with his left foot, but he has been working on that every day. And because of that he scores a very important second goal.

"It's massive for [Nedim Bajrami]. He is just in the building but you can see the influence he has on the way we want to play. He's going to become an important player."

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Martin Dowden, BBC Sport Scotland in Malmo

This was an impressive and assured Rangers display at this level in a testing, compact environment. They needed a positive start given how tough their draw is and they got it.

The foundation was the opener coming so early. From there, the Premiership side largely controlled things, balancing solid defending with cutting attacking threat.

Crucially, Malmo just couldn't test Jack Butland, particularly during the first half in which the hosts had just two touches in Rangers' box.

Not that this was a defensive display, far from it.

It was a different Malmo for some of the second period. They got their act together, the crowd responded but Philippe Clement's side stood up to that test.

Rangers in truth should have been out of sight long before they got that vital second. Malmo were poor overall and the Ibrox side took full advantage.

The only criticism might be the amount of stick-on chances they didn't take when in fabulous positions. Usually in Europe, those moments get punished.

This felt like a tie from which Rangers required at least a point, given the quality of opposition in their draw.

The win gives them the perfect start and platform to move forward with confidence when they host Lyon at home next.