Glasgow Rangers suffered heartbreak in the Europa League on Thursday evening, with Philippe Clement’s side conceding a late Bruno Fernandes goal as Manchester United secured a 2-1 victory.
The two sides were aiming for three points to boost their chances of finishing in the top eight, thus securing a spot in the last 16.
Man United scored first courtesy of a Jack Butland howler, and it looked as though the Old Trafford side were cruising to victory.
However, with just two minutes of normal time left, a mistake by Harry Maguire gave Cyriel Dessers a sniff. Often guilty of profligacy, the striker took one touch, before firing a shot devastatingly into the corner of the United goal.
Despite this, there was more late drama as Fernandes got on the end of a cross to score what turned out to be the winner.
There were a few decent performances by the away side, while a few youngsters managed to secure some game time.
Rangers’ biggest underperformer against Man United
While it was Butland who scored an unfortunate own goal against his former employers, he wasn’t the main culprit at Old Trafford, far from it.
One of them was full-back Jefte who with the clock running down, switched off at the back post and allowed that man Fernandes to ghost in relatively unmarked and find the back of the net.
It was never going to be a game full of chances for the Gers but Clement will no doubt find himself disappointed with some of the forwards, most notably Nedim Bajrami.
The Albanian looked like an interesting signing when he joined the Ibrox side last summer. He has often played out of position on the left wing during his first few months due to injury issues with other members of the squad.
Across all competitions, Bajrami had scored four goals and grabbed four assists, but given how much the Gers paid for him, this figure should be higher.
Against United, Bajrami was utilised as an attacking midfielder, operating directly behind Hamza Igamane and if there was a game to prove to the supporters that he belonged in the team, this was it.
Unfortunately, he was arguably one of the poorest players in the team on Thursday evening. The former Sassuolo man completed just 13 passes during his time on the pitch, while taking only 25 touches – two fewer than Butland – proving how little he was involved.
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Man Utd vs Rangers – Key statistics |
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|---|---|
|
Statistic |
Highest-Ranked |
|
Accurate passes |
Lisandro Martínez (75) |
|
Key passes |
Bruno Fernandes (4) |
|
Ground duels won |
Nico Raskin (7) |
|
Shots on target |
Alejandro Garnacho (2) |
|
Tackles |
Nico Raskin (4) |
|
Via Sofascore |
|
From an attacking standpoint, he made zero key passes, attempted zero dribbles and created zero big chances during the game, along with registering no total shots.
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The midfielder also gave the ball away seven times in what was a dismal performance. Writer Andy Mckellar even claimed that Bajrami was “not offering enough on the ball.”
Who could replace Bajrami in the Rangers side
Given how poor he was against Man United, the Albanian could well lose his place in the starting XI for the clash against Dundee United on Sunday afternoon.
Ianis Hagi wasn’t included in the Europa League squad, but he should be taking over from Bajrami this weekend.
The 25-year-old has been poor for a number of weeks now and considering there are plenty of youngsters such as Bailey Rice, Zak Lovelace and Findlay Curtis knocking on the door, the Albania international will need to improve, and fast.
Despite the loss, a positive display next week in their final European match should see the club secure a place in the knockout playoffs.
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