Ibrox View: 9/10 exemplary, 4/10 flops amid exit links - Rangers player ratings vs Ludogorets

Rangers secured their first Europa League victory with a 1-0 win at home to Ludogorets on Thursday.

Rangers are working hard behind the scenes to secure more arrivals, but their attention turned to the Europa League on Thursday night.

It took 33 minutes for the Gers to open the scoring, with Diomande finishing tidily after some great work from Youssef Chermiti to keep the ball alive in the box.

From there on, the Light Blues struggled to create any clear-cut chances in front of goal, but given the lack of threat posed by the visitors, they didn’t need to.

Findlay Curtis had an effort saved late in the game, in what was the only real moment of quality in the second half of the game.

Mohamed Diomande was superb vs Ludogorets

It wasn’t only his goal, which was very well taken, but Diomande was outstanding for the Gers at Ibrox on Thursday.

His passing was arguably as crisp as it has been all season, and his willingness to work hard for the team bailed his teammates out on several occasions.

Diomande challenged for everything in the middle of the park, and almost everything that Rangers did on the night in possession started by or involved him.

The Ivorian has struggled for consistency at times this season, but if he can replicate this level of display, then he could have a crucial role to play in whatever success Rangers can achieve.

Read More: Jens Hjerto-Dahl whereabouts clarified amid Rangers transfer frenzy

Djeidi Gassama frailties on show again for Rangers

Djeidi Gassama was the standout star in a struggling Rangers team earlier in the season, and yet his performances have dropped as those around him have improved.

That was again the case against Ludogorets, with Gassama shockingly bad in the first half in particular, with almost every attempted pass being intercepted.

In the end, the Frenchman completed just 11 of his 23 attempted passes, as per Sofascore.

His willingness to drive forward with the ball helped the Gers in transition, as did his defensive contributions, but his lack of attacking threat will be a concern for Rohl.

After drawing a blank at Ibrox, that’s now just one goal contribution in his last 14 games for the Light Blues.

Something has to change, but with Gassama already linked with an exit from Ibrox, it remains to be seen if he will get the time for that.

Rangers player ratings

Jack Butland – 7

Max Aarons – 6

Nasser Djiga – 6

Emmanuel Fernandez – 7

Jayden Meghoma – 7

Mohamed Diomande – 9

Nicolas Raskin – 7

Thelo Aasgaard – 7

Djeidi Gassama – 4

Mikey Moore – 5 (for Miovski 64′)

Youssef Chermiti – 6 (for Curtis 73′)

Subs

Bojan Miovski – 4 (for Moore 64′)

Findlay Curtis – 7 (for Chermiti 73′)

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