Rangers 2-1 USG: Sweet 16 for Philippe Clement’s men as deserved victory proves their season isn’t flatlining

On a night when the attention of those in the stands was divided between the on-field action and ever-changing results on mobile phones, Philippe Clement’s players had to stay focused on the job at hand.

Their application was rewarded with a win which ensured they kept their part of the bargain. With favours being simultaneously granted to them across the continent, it was one of those occasions when everything fell into place.

The end result is that Rangers will not be required to participate in the play-off round of the Europa League. After acquiring 14 points to finish in eighth place, they are moving straight to the round of 16.

Despite the narrow scoreline, this was a deserved triumph. Clement’s players had more enterprise and steel than their opponents. They really ought to have been out of sight long before the end.

All told, it’s been a good month for the Rangers manager. Wins against Celtic, St Johnstone, Aberdeen and Dundee United came amid draws with Hibernian and Dundee and a decent display in defeat at Old Trafford.

To cap it all off with a victory against a capable opponent here will add to the growing sense of momentum.

It’s been quite the turnaround. Clement looked in deep trouble after a wretched festive period. After getting the dreaded vote of confidence from chief executive Patrick Stewart, the Belgian has started to win back some of those disaffected supporters.

Take Rangers to the latter stages of this tournament and the last of the floating voters will surely be his, too.

The result should never have been in doubt from the moment Nico Raskin headed home the opener.

Vaclav Cerny’s goal on the counter attack 10 minutes into the second half looked good enough to settle the issue until the visitors scored late on to make a little more tetchy than it ought to have been.

It would have been a good outcome under any circumstances. Given Clement had to field a makeshift defence – with Ross McCausland at right-back for 78 minutes – added to the sense of achievement.

With Leon Balogun sidelined, John Souttar only fit for the bench and Clinton Nsiala not in the European squad, Leon King was handed his first start since the final game of last season. But it was to prove a grim reintroduction to the side for the academy graduate.

Hard on the heels of a pair of howitzers against Manchester United and Dundee United, Cyriel Dessers retained his place alongside Hamza Igamane. Cerny returned after missing the trip to Tayside.

Sitting third in the Belgian Pro League, Union Saint-Gilloise always had the potential to be an awkward opponent.

Clement threw in a curveball, opting to deploy King at right-back with James Tavernier dropping into centre half but was soon having to reshuffle his pack.

Hamza Igamane started on the left of a supporting three. A quite stunning touch with his left foot saw him pluck the ball out of the sky and take out Kevin Mac Allister in the one motion. Unfortunately, the build up didn’t quite match the cross to Dessers.

King’s night sadly lasted only 14 minutes. Chasing down Oussegnou Niang, he pulled up complaining of the after-effects of an earlier head knock. McCausland was sprung from the bench.

The early change prevented Rangers from initially finding any rhythm. With Union pressing, Fedde Leysen was first to a corner. Jack Butland was happy to grab the bouncing header.

Rangers’ first threat came when Dessers out-jumped the visiting defence to claim Tavernier’s free-kick. His headed effort was just off target.

It settled Clement’s men. They edged in front on 21 minutes, Tavernier combined with Cerny then floated to the left to take the ball again. A deep cross picked out the unmarked Raskin.

A perfectly-placed header back across goal from the midfielder left Antony Moris with no chance. What a sweet moment it was for the young Belgian who used to wear the shirts of Gent and Standard Liege.

As the half-hour mark approached, Ibrox breathed a collective sigh of relief. Neither Jefte or Tavernier looked particularly convincing as they tried to deal with Charles Vanhoutte’s deep free-kick.

Franjo Ivanovic eventually poked the ball home. Union’s celebrations were cut short by a VAR-awarded offside.

The visitors certainly had some guile in Anan Khalaili. The midfielder had a couple of delightful slaloms from middle to front. The presence of Raskin invariably ensured they amounted to nothing.

Union’s best move of the first half came when Mohammed Fuseini threaded a ball through to Noah Sadiki. With the goal gaping, the midfielder pulled his shot beyond the far post as Butland advanced.

Despite that, Rangers were decent value for the half-time lead. Dessers was only denied a 19th goal of the season by the outstretched leg of Ross Sykes.

Union simply didn’t work Butland often enough. Niang’s cross from the left which was hammered wide from close range by Fuseini right at the end of the first period was a case in point.

Rangers were happy to see that theme continue after the turnaround. Vanhoutte’s cross from the right caught Tavernier napping. Ivanovic fired a simple chance over.

Next up was Fuseini rounding Butland and allowing Tavernier to clear his weak shot off the line. Ivanovic scooped the rebound over the top.

With their next surge up the field, Rangers showed their opponents how it’s meant to be done.

Nedim Bajrami’s pass from deep released Dessers. The forward powerfully carried the ball from the halfway line then paused to assess his options. Having made a supporting run in the right channel, Cerny took the cross in his stride and fired low into the net.

A third goal would have killed it. Cerny thought he had it only for his rocket of a shot from 25 yards to strike the post. Igamane also fizzed one narrowly wide from outside the box. It mattered little.

Word then came that results elsewhere had taken Clement’s team into the top eight. It made for a strange closing spell.

With seven minutes remaining, it all turned rather nervy. Mac Allister’s header from Vanhoutte’s free-kick dipped beyond Butland to half the deficit.

But Rangers were not to be denied. So much for their season flatlining.