Rangers 1-4 Lyon: French giants have too much firepower for Philippe Clement's hapless side
After punching above their weight for so long in the Europa League, this was bound to happen to Rangers at some point.
A swing and a miss to temper expectations about what might be possible in this year’s revamped competition.
If an opening night win over Malmo was seen as an unexpected yet welcome bonus, this brutal reverse to Lyon sees Philippe Clement’s side drop back to the middle of the pack as the league phase starts to take shape.
While the outcome itself was not entirely unexpected, the manner in which Rangers were dismantled was troubling for those present.
At times, Clement’s players were simply run ragged by a slick Lyon side. A defence which hadn’t lost a goal in four matches conceded three times in the first half alone and it could have been many more. Only the visitors’ attempts to walk the ball into the net in the second period kept the score down.
For all the Belgian could not fault his side for their effort and application, the truth is they were second best in every department.
James Tavernier turns away in frustration as Lacazette is congratulated for his first goal at Ibrox.
Vaclav Cerny contrives to lift a close-range shot over the bar when it looked easier to score.
Malick Fofana celebrates with his Lyon team-mates after scoring his second goal of the night.
They briefly drew level through Tom Lawrence as the French found their rhythm, but this proved to be a harsh lesson in the ruthless nature of the game at this level.
After an encouraging few weeks for the manager following a drubbing at Celtic Park, this was a stark reminder of the huge job he has on his hands.
Clement had warned on Wednesday that anyone underestimating Lyon on account of an indifferent couple of years would do so at their peril. How right he was.
Deep down, the Belgian would have known that his men would have been in trouble if the French put a stuttering start to this season behind them and that’s exactly how it played out.
An expensively-assembled visiting side had far too much power, pace and skill for the Scots. Their speed of thought and movement were on a different level. Rangers were soundly beaten and grateful that the final score was not more emphatic.
Once Lyon got going, there was no chance their name would join the likes of Porto, Feyenoord and RB Leipzig among those who’ve been vanquished in this famous arena in recent years.
Having spent so much of the night chasing the ball, Rangers’ weary limbs will do well to recover in time for the visit of St Johnstone on Sunday.
With Tottenham, Manchester United and Union Saint-Gilloise making for a tough closing stretch in this competition, it’s imperative that the Ibrox men do some heavy lifting across their forthcoming matches with Steaua Bucharest, Olympiacos and Nice. On this evidence, that may be easier said than done.
Clement’s assertion that financially the French club inhabited a ‘different world’ was certainly hard to take issue with.
Their record £27million signing Moussa Niakhate started on the bench. Their second most expensive player, Earnest Nuamah, at £24m, gave him company.
Their starting side wasn’t short of stellar names. Former Arsenal forward Alexandre Lacazette, ex-Chelsea and Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic, Corentin Tolisso, once of Bayern Munich. At left-back, they had a World Cup winner in Argentina’s Nicolas Tagliafico.
Their young guns weren’t bad either — Rayan Cherki and Malick Fofana, by reputation the next big things with the French and Belgian national teams. Both were mesmerising here.
While the £3.4m Clement spent to sign Nedim Bajrami this summer was hardly chicken feed, the disparity in budgets was vast.
The Albanian was reintroduced together with Mohamed Diomande and Cyriel Dessers.
Ibrox was some way short of capacity as European football returned after a brief stop-off at Hampden. For all the talk of money, Clement’s side should have been ahead here before Lyon had even drawn breath.
Lawrence’s shot was saved by Lucas Perri with the ball falling kindly for Vaclav Cerny. Even allowing or the fact that the winger was off balance, his miss from six yards was staggering.
Within two minutes, Lyon fully capitalised. A slick move which saw Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Cherki combine ended with Jack Butland initially repelling Lacazette’s strike.
Clement’s side’s lack of concentration as the French came again was alarming. Fofana found the far corner with a peach of a right footer.
Lyon did not impress defensively. James Tavernier might well have put the home side ahead inside three minutes when the ball broke to him off Lawrence and the French backline showed the mobility of mannequins.
This weakness encouraged the hosts, even after going behind.
Jefte’s surge up the left was the spark that led to them drawing level just four minutes later.
The Brazilian’s cross was by poorly controlled by Cerny. Tolisso’s attempt at finding his keeper with a header was fraught with danger. Dessers attempted to pounce but was thwarted by Perri only for Lawrence to keep his cool to bundle home from five yards.
Clement appealed for calm. Some hope. Excellent so far since moving from Aberdeen, Connor Barron had a horrible moment when he went blind with a pass and suddenly the French were in.
Fofana advanced into the box, bobbed and weaved and weighed up his options. His mind was made up as soon as Lacazette appeared to his right. The forward finished brilliantly by going back across Butland’s goal. After four successive clean sheets, Rangers had now lost two goals in ten minutes.
On the left wing, Fofana was unplayable at times. He accelerated away from Barron and Robin Propper with ease. Rangers were again indebted to Butland for making a vital save.
For all the visitors started to weave some pretty patterns, Rangers were not without their moments. Cerny fizzed one just the wrong side of the upright as the interval approached.
They would not make it up the tunnel without conceding again, though. Lyon’s third was nothing short of sublime.
A short throw-in saw Fofana shield the ball from Tavernier and play in Cherki. The midfielder produced some outrageous skill to get himself out of a tight spot then picked out Lacazette. His finish from the edge of the box was outrageous — the power and swerve rendering Butland a bystander.
There was little to suggest we would witness the most unlikely of comebacks. After ten second- half minutes even the most optimistic home supporter had dismissed that notion.
Cherki teased Barron with a couple of step-overs to make room for a cross. Delivered with pin-point accuracy, it allowed Fofana to claim his second with a tap-in at the far post.
An early replacement for Tavernier, Neraysho Kasanwirjo kicked Tolisso’s header off the line after Duje Caleta-Car had hit the bar.
The game was gone but Rangers still looked for consolation. Perri kept sub Kieran Dowell at bay with a brilliant one-handed save.
In the blink of an eye, Fofana was only denied a hat-trick by another five save from Butland. By that stage, the final whistle could not come quickly enough.
