Glasgow Rangers suffered their first defeat in the Europa League group phase as Lyon emerged 4–1 victors at Ibrox on Thursday evening.
Following a run of four successive wins, featuring four clean sheets, it was their first loss since the defeat to Celtic at the start of September.
Philippe Clement will have a lot on his mind as he tries to get his players to bounce back ahead of the final Premiership match before the international break, with St Johnstone the visitors to Ibrox on Sunday evening.
Due to the sharp turnaround between games, there will likely be a few changes to the starting XI, especially considering how poorly several members of the team performed against the French side.
One player who should be dropped to the bench is Vaclav Cerny, who was woeful on Thursday evening.
Vaclav Cerny’s game in numbers vs Lyon
The Czech winger started the game on the right flank, despite Ross McCausland enjoying a decent cameo during the previous European match against Malmö.
Cerny missed a glaring chance in that first match, although it didn’t matter as the Gers won 2-0. Against Lyon, however, he somehow missed an open goal after just seven minutes following some good work down the left flank.
This clearly hampered his confidence, as the winger took just 31 touches during his spell on the pitch, managed one key pass and failed to even attempt a dribble, clearly showing his lack of effectiveness.
Goals
0
Assists
0
Big chances missed
1
Key passes
1
Dribble attempts
0
Total duels won
0
The former Ajax star completed just 13 passes during the match, five fewer than goalkeeper Jack Butland, while he didn’t win a single duel throughout his 69 minutes on the field. It was a dismal showing from a player who Clement signed to have an impact in games such as these.
Cerny was even given a match rating of just 5/10 by the Rangers Review, yet more evidence of how uninspiring he was during the game.
Clement could drop Vaclav Cerny vs St Johnstone
Clement faces one final game before yet another international break and a win will be required against the Saints to keep in touch with Celtic and Aberdeen at the summit of the league table.
Cerny will most likely be dropped to the bench, with young McCausland given a start in his place. The Northern Irish winger has already scored twice this term along with grabbing an assist.
Despite starting only once in the league, the 21-year-old averages one key pass per game and succeeds with 60% of his dribble attempts, indicating that he offers a solid threat going forwards.
Could this see the Belgian make this change on the right flank? Only time will tell. A decent performance along with three points will go a long way to appeasing the Ibrox faithful ahead of the break, no doubt about that.
5/10 Rangers man who lost possession 20x was just as bad as Barron
The Light Blues defender endured a frustrating evening in the Europa League.
ByDan EmeryOct 4, 2024
