The most painful aspect of a humiliating defeat is that, as Rangers may be about to discover, they tend to stick in the memory, especially of opposition supporters and social media trolls with an agenda to fulfil.
There is a pretty successful X account dedicated to pointing out every time Southampton’s 9-0 obliteration by Leicester City is mentioned during present-day Saints matches.
Manchester United’s seven-goal trouncing at the hands of Liverpool will forever be viewed as a rock-bottom moment in a decade of disappointment.
That everyone in Scotland can recite that infamous Sun headline – a quarter-of-a-century after an ‘atrocious’ Celtic were sent packing from the Scottish Cup by a ‘ballistic’ Inverness outfit – tells it’s own story.
And, as Rangers were dumped out at home to second-tier Queen’s Park, Philippe Clement endured his own John Barnes moment. One that might not have led to an almost immediate dismissal, but certainly weakens his grip on the Ibrox job.
As shocks go, meanwhile, the one which stunned Polish football over the weekend was not quite in the same league as Rangers’ Queen’s Park debacle.
But as rock-bottom Slask Wroclaw recorded only their second Ekstraklasa win of 2024/25 – beating a comfortably mid-table Widzew Lodz outfit 3-0 – it was a former Ger who lathered on a layer of icing and so sugary and so thick it would keep dentists in work for generations.
Rangers misfit Mateusz Zukowski sparks dream of great escape
Mateusz Zukowski, it’s fair to say, endured a mixed first season back in Poland.
Zukowski was dubbed the ‘worst winger’ in the league following one particularly poor run. He was then dropped to the reserves at Slask Wroclaw and, at one point, it looked as if he would be let go after just one season at the Tarczynski Arena Wroclaw.
A ‘phenomenal’ first goal eventually helped save Mateusz Zukowski from the chop, opening his Ekstraklasa account at the 25th time of asking in May. The versatile wideman would have to wait another nine months to double his tally, however.
But as he drove into the penalty area and prodded home, putting Slask Wroclaw in vertigo-inducing territory of a three-goal lead, the relief on the pitch and in the stands was palpable.
Zukowski makes ‘only the beginning’ pledge to Slask Wroclaw fans
Two goals in 48 Polish top-flight games since Rangers let Zukowski go in the summer of 2023. Hardly an impressive return.
But if his long-awaited first strike earned him a shot at Slask Wroclaw redemption, could his second be the goal which lights the fire under a stunning escape from the relegation zone?
That may be too much to ask, given that Zukowski and co remain seven points adrift of safety. But it’s a start.
“Everything looked really good,” Zukowski beams, doubling his Slask tally on a day in which his team doubled their number of wins across 2024/25.
“We had the match under control from the first to the last minute. We scored the third goal and then the match was really won. The win makes me happy, but it’s only the beginning of what we have to do.
“I’m really happy about this goal. I’ve been waiting for it for a long time. Now, we have a victory. :et’s hope the next ones come as often as possible!”
