Rangers kick Europa League campaign off with impressive win at Malmo
Rangers made a storming start to their Europa League campaign with a 2-0 win over Malmo in Sweden which should have been more emphatic.
Midfielder Nedim Bajrami scored his first goal for the Ibrox club in less than a minute and Philippe Clement’s side passed up several chances to add a second before the interval.
The Swedish champions, who had not lost to Rangers in four previous meetings in Champions League qualifiers, piled pressure on after the break but still the Light Blues missed chances to add to their lead before substitute Ross McCausland fired in a superb second in the 76th minute to seal the win.
It was the biggest test for the Ibrox outfit since they lost 3-0 to Celtic at the start of the month and they came through with flying colours.
Clement’s side can take confidence into the William Hill Premiership game against Hibernian on Sunday, before they host French side Lyon next week in the second of eight Europa League fixtures.
Before the game Clement had to wrestle with selection dilemmas.
With Jefte suspended and Ridvan Yilmaz among a clutch of injured players, 22-year-old Dutch defender Neraysho Kasanwirjo, on loan from Feyenoord, was handed his first start at left-back, while midfielder Mohamed Diomande took over from Dujon Sterling.
Malmo, eight points clear at the top of the Swedish table and seemingly on their way to title number 24, were stunned to go behind so early.
Cyriel Dessers latched on to a slack pass back from defender Gabriel Busanello and rounded keeper Johan Dahlin only to see his shot from a tight angle hit the post but Albania international Bajrami, signed from Italian side Sassuolo in the summer, was following up and knocked the ball in to the empty net.
The goal rattled the home side but they soon got to grips with their task.
In the 18th minute Malmo striker Isaac Kiese Thelin, top scorer in the Swedish top flight, knocked in a free-kick from Sergio Pena but the offside flag was instantly raised.
Dahlin had to save a Bajrami drive before Dessers miscontrolled inside the box at a vital moment.
Five minutes before the break Bajrami sent wide-man Vaclav Cerny racing clear on goal but the Gers attacker missed the target with his unconvincing shot.
Bajrami’s drive from 20 yards moments later was much more powerful and drew a fine save from Dahlin, although, in another Light Blues break, the Albanian returned a pass to Dessers when he should have got a shot away.
The Govan side were put under intense pressure at the start of the second half by Henrik Rydstrom’s outfit but still Gers keeper Jack Butland was well-protected.
In the 58th minute Malmo skipper Anders Christiansen ballooned a shot over the bar from 12 yards, hinting that it could be Rangers’ night.
An acrobatic effort at the other end from Dessers following a Cerny free-kick had Dahlin scrambling to save but Portuguese referee Luis Godinho blew for an infringement.
Winger McCausland replaced the tiring Cerny in the 69th minute before Dessers raced clear of the Malmo defence and cleared the bar with a careless finish.
However, Northern Ireland international McCausland was unerring in his 20-yard drive, the ball skipping in off the post before he and the rest of the Gers players raced to the corner to take the acclaim of the travelling supporters.
There was time for Kasanwirjo to slam a shot over the bar with only Dahlin to beat but it was a scoreline Rangers would have accepted with gratitude before kick-off.