As Hamza Igamane opened his Rangers account to put the icing on top of that Europa League cake, FCSB boss Elias Charalambous was left with a horrible feeling of deja vu.
Once again, his FCSB outfit had been caught in possession inside their own half.
Just like with Tom Lawrence’s opener and the first of two Vaclav Cerny strikes, the Romanian visitors played unwittingly into Rangers’ high pressing hands with yet another misplaced pass which was just beginning to be punished.
Seconds later, Igamane had fired across the goal and into the bottom corner.
Rangers’ fourth goal on the night securing their most lopsided European win since Hapoel Tel Aviv were vanquished in front of a bouncing Ibrox back in 2007.
For Charalambous, the frustration was that FCSB made it so damn easy for their hosts. A baffling refusal to learn from previous errors gifting Rangers three almost identical goals on the night.
FCSB boss accepts Rangers high pressing made the difference
“We knew from the beginning that we would face a very good team,” Charalambous sighed during his post-match press conference. “We were dangerous when we had the ball.
“Something that we knew after analysing Rangers is that they are a team who, when they lose the ball high [up the pitch], they try to press and regain the ball.
“We conceded four goals in the same way.”
In truth, Rangers’ third of the night – and Cerny’s second – was a little different in it’s execution.
While the other three strikes were all about winning the ball on the verge of the FCSB penalty area and making their guests pay in brutal fashion, the one which really ended the game as a content was a flowing team move as good as you will see anywhere in this season’s Europa League.
It started with Jack Butland pass, James Tavernier playing the ball into midfield for Mohamed Diomande to flick around the corner.
Cerny, breezing in behind a suicidally high FCSB backline, even had the composure to sit a defender down before slotting into the far corner with his trusty left boot.
After a slow start, Wolfsburg loanee Vaclav Cerny is showing real ‘top class’ quality in Rangers blue these days.
Connor Barron and Nico Raskin set the tone in Europa League win
“A dark night for us,” Charalambous adds. “We knew we had a tough opponent. At this level, you can’t make mistakes that easily. You pay for it. Before the game, I said we had to be at our best to get a positive result with Rangers, but we didn’t do that.
“When you lose the match, you are angry. We had a bad game today but we have to remember what these guys have done so far.
“We also upset our fans who were at the match.”
Philippe Clement could not speak highly enough of Rangers duo Nico Raskin and Connor Barron at full-time.
If Rangers’ physicality, their aggression and their high-pressing tactics provided the backbone for a crushing win on home soil, then it was their all-action midfield pairing who set the tone. Raskin and Barron completed 15 tackles between them on the night.
Fittingly, it was the outstanding Barron – channelling his Rangers predecessor Ryan Jack – who laid the foundations for Igamane’s late finish.
Charging down an FCBS midfielder after a loose touch, the former Aberdeen youngster flicked the ball into the Moroccan’s path with Igamane happy to do the rest all on his own.
