Rangers bounced back from the sobering defeat to Lyon with a comfortable domestic win over St Johnstone in a game that was routine, but not short of incident.
Vaclav Cerny repaid the faith that the manager showed in him with two fine goals and Nicolas Raskin proved that Connor Barron isn’t going to have it all his own way in the fight for the number six role.
The highlight of the night though, was the sight of Ianis Hagi in a Rangers jersey once again, topped by his assist for Cerny’s second goal.
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Ianis Hagi tackle assessed as playmaker sees Rangers return red
Rarely has a player been applauded or cheered after being sent-off, however, a distraught Hagi received the warm response from every corner of Ibrox after his lack of senior game time caught up with him in a challenge described as a “leg breaker”.
Speaking to Emma Dodds after the 2-0 win, Premier Sports pundits Marvin Bartley and Alan Hutton gave their verdict on a decision that few would have the temerity to argue about:
“Yeah, it’s definitely a red card, the first two angles it’s very, very difficult to see. It’s the last one you see how high the tackle actually is,” said Bartley.
“Because at first – it’s this one here – he’s just stretching for the ball but when you mistime it like that, and you hit them that high, it’s a definite red card – VAR’s worked.
“They’ve pulled the referee to the monitor after he’s handed out a yellow card at first and given out a red card, they can’t have any arguments with that.”
Hutton agreed, but at the same time had a bit of sympathy for Hagi too:
“That’s a sore one, I mean it could, genuinely, be a leg breaker.
“Hagi’s not meant it, he’s not got that within him, but you’ve got to remember, he’s not played at this level for a long period of time as well.
“There will be a little bit of rustiness within him.”
Philippe Clement will be encouraged by Hagi cameo
Philippe Clement is delighted to have another player who can contribute in the final third back and available for selection in his squad.
The contract dispute was settled and the Romania international will be keen to rediscover the form that saw him win young player of the year in his first full season at the club.
Hagi has never been afraid to roll his sleeves up but Clement echoed the thoughts of the two pundits:
“There’s no intensity in the tackle, it’s more clumsy, a clumsy challenge from a player who’s tired at that moment. It’s really like an attacking player making a foul.
“Ianis didn’t have any intentions to tackle in that way. It was unlucky, but it’s a clear red card, so I’ve nothing to say about that.”
It was a red card, it’s just frustrating that Hagi will now have to miss the next league game through suspension.
As the Gers boss added though, hopefully Hagi gets more minutes away on international duty over the next fortnight so that this sort of tackle is less likely to happen again.
