Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version or go back to LFC Live.net
(Credit: Imago)
Oliver Walton
Wed 20 August 2025 7:30, UK
Rangers’ poor start to the season got even worse with a 3-1 loss to Club Brugge in the Champions League play-off round first-leg on Tuesday (19 August) evening.
Rangers had been doing fine in Europe under new boss Russell Martin, but their evening got off to a terrible start as Nasser Djiga’s mix-up allowed Romeo Vermant to run free at Jack Butland before he chipped it in for 1-0 after just three minutes.
Club Brugge extended their lead only four minutes later as Jorne Spileers guided a first-time effort past Butland from a corner, and Brandon Mechele then rocketed a fine shot past Butland to make it 3-0 in the 20th minute, with Rangers fans already leaving Ibrox to the amusement of Chris Sutton.
Rangers started the second-half much brighter as Danilo pulled a goal back just five minutes after the restart, and they thought they had another late on as Djeidi Gassama’s finish was chalked off by VAR, who deemed that Simon Mignolet had control of the ball before it went in.
(Credit: Hasan Karim, Breaking Media)
Jayden Meghoma
Meghoma joined Rangers on loan from Brentford earlier this week, and he was a shining light on a dismal evening for the club as he defended and attacked with vigour and intent throughout, and had his heart set on making a difference.
The 19-year-old was the man to make that difference as he got in behind the Brugge backline and delivered a sumptuous cross for Danilo to tap home, and he is clearly going to be a key man for the club going forward based off this performance.
View this post on Instagram
View Instagram Post
MORE FOOTBALL INSIDER STORIES
Djeidi Gassama
Gassama was another who wanted to make things happen all game and tried to get Rangers up the pitch in search of a fight-back in the second half.
He was one of the few that emerged with credit as he continued his impressive start to his Gers career with the most completed dribbles (4) and most duels won (8) in the match [Fotmob], while he was seriously unlucky not to score late on after VAR intervened.
Danilo
Danilo had a largely ineffective game in attack as Martin persisted with him over Hamza Igamane, but he was in the right place at the right time to score in the 50th minute.
(Credit Imago)
Rangers were dead and buried in the tie at 3-0, but his goal, even if it was only a tap-in, has somewhat pulled them back into it and offered them a shred of hope as they head to Belgium next week.
Nasser Djiga
Djiga got off to the worst possible start at Ibrox as he failed to anticipate Vermant’s run and simply allowed him to pick the ball up unchallenged while one-on-one with Butland.
His night hardly got any better with a number of shaky moments that could have allowed Brugge more joy in the final third, and it was clear that his early shocker had hugely affected his mindset and the way he would normally play his game.
Jack Butland
(Credit: Imago)
Butland also played his part in Brugge’s early opener as he seemingly insinuated to Djiga that he was going to clear the ball, but then stayed on the edge of his box while his teammate relaxed and allowed Vermant in.
The veteran stopper again looked unsure of himself throughout following the mistake, as a number of his kicks and passes failed to find teammates and he seemed to hesitate at high balls into his box.
John Souttar
Souttar completes a trio of poor performances in Martin’s backline, mainly due to his clear lack of leadership on the pitch despite being handed the captain’s armband with James Tavernier on the bench.
(Credit Imago)
He constantly committed fouls and struggled to progress the ball forwards to his midfield teammates, and also ended the game with a booking after a clear foul on Nicolo Tresoldi.
For more news relating to Rangers, visit our sister site Rangers Latest Live.
![[Valid RSS]](../valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")