A young Rangers team suffered late Europa League heartbreak against Manchester United with the Gers now seemingly destined for the competition’s playoff stage.
Rangers had a number of early openings in the game but Nicolas Raskin and then Ridvan Yilmaz failed to capitalise before Jack Butland made a couple of strong saves.
The Ibrox goalkeeper then punched the ball early in the second half as the Gers picked up a number of injuries which forced the club to introduce a number of youngsters.
Cyriel Dessers would supply a superb late turn and finish to equalise for the Gers only for Jefte to lose Bruno Fernandes at the back post for the Portuguese to score in injury time.
Here’s six things we learned as Manchester United sneak a 2-1 Europa League win over Rangers at Old Trafford.
Cyriel Dessers shows his Rangers quality
As Rangers lick their wounds at Old Trafford it’s hard not to feel for Cyriel Dessers.
The big striker has been the subject of near constant transfer speculation this January but climbed off the bench to show his quality with a stunning late equaliser.
Rangers failed to keep it tight at the back in the final stages and paid the price, robbing the big Nigerian international of a hero’s welcome back to Glasgow.
But Dessers has sent a reminder of his quality to Rangers and it’s about time everyone at the club recognises what Cyriel brings to the team.
The touch, the finish, the limbs. Cyriel Dessers, ladies and gentlemen.
Jack Butland the hero and villain on Man Utd return
Jack Butland has missed the last six Rangers games and was recalled in time to face Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Butland spent six months on loan at Old Trafford before moving to Ibrox but never played a game for the Red Devils, meaning this was technically the goalie’s Old Trafford debut.
It was probably the boyhood United fan’s dream to score in front of the Stretford End but we bet he never imagined he’d be doing it in Rangers colours.
Despite the flapping own goal, where Butland punched the ball into his own net to give United the lead, Butland made a number of quality saves throughout the match.
Keeping the ball out of his net with five impressive stops, a low first-half save with his leg against Amad Diallo amongst the most impressive, unfortunately everyone will remember the gaffe.
Young Gers stand up in the Theatre of Dreams
An injury-ravaged Rangers were without eight first-team players against Manchester United and the club’s wafer thin Europa League squad eventually paid the price.
Rangers wound up with four academy players on the park come full-time in an Old Trafford experience they won’t forget in a hurry.
Leon Balogun had to go off at half-time, being replaced by Ross McCausland, with Connor Barron succumbing to injury and 18-year-old Bailey Rice coming on the park.
Finlay Curtis then had to come on when Vaclav Cerny went down holding his hamstring, with Leon King coming off the bench after Dessers’ late equaliser.
There were nervous moments for all four players but none of them disgraced themselves in testing circumstances.
Bailey Rice, who might’ve done better with an opportunity at the end of the box, was probably the most impressive.
James Tavernier oozes Rangers class
Rangers captain James Tavernier has had to put up with a lot of nonsense at Ibrox, whilst some of the criticism of the Ibrox skipper has been merited.
But against Premier League opposition Rangers’ main leader put in an immense shift between right-back and then at centre-back in the second half.
Playing with real control and impetus throughout the match, Tavernier played in Ridvan Yilmaz in the first half after intercepting the ball wonderfully in the middle of the pitch.
The Rangers captain also did well to deal with the troublesome Alejandro Garnacho throughout, biting into challenges and winning the ball back on the deck and in the air as a central defender.
To put the cherry on a wonderful display, it was Tavernier’s raking long-range diagonal pass which caused chaos in the United backline and gave Cyriel Dessers the chance to score.
Wasteful Rangers pay price of sloppy football
Whilst there were a lot of positives on a challenging night at Old Trafford, Rangers were sloppy throughout the match and eventually paid the price.
Beyond Jack Butland’s own goal, Rangers were fortunate to see a first-half header from Matthijis de Ligt ruled out for a subtle shove on Robin Propper.
A more ruthless United might’ve taken advantage of the Gers’ sloppy passing as the team broke from the full-backs, with Ridvan Yilmaz and Jefte displaying particularly sloppy use of the ball.
Both players were involved in both of United’s goals too, with Yilmaz twice losing possession to concede the corner that Butland palmed into his own net and Jefte losing Bruno Fernandes at the back post.
Even in the offensive positions, Nedim Bajrami was a bit of a passenger and needs to do more for Rangers on these big nights.
Rangers heading towards Europa League playoff
The defeat to Manchester United all but consigns Rangers to the Europa League Playoff round with the Gers now 13th in the revamped league phase table.
Manchester United are up to 4th and look certain to guarantee progression to the last 16 of the tournament.
Rangers could still finish in the top eight but there are a number of permutations which would need to go the Ibrox side’s way.
Firstly Rangers will need to beat Union Saint Gilloise at Ibrox next week but would then require the majority of the teams above them in the table to have serious off nights.
