Rangers made a storming start to their Europa League campaign with a 2-0 win over Malmö in Sweden that should have been even more emphatic. 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 Rangers missed chances to add to their lead before the substitute Ross McCausland fired in a superb second in the 76th minute to seal the win. It was the biggest test for Rangers 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 Premiership game against Hibernian on Sunday, before they host the 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.
Malmö, eight points clear at the top of the Swedish table and seemingly on their way to title No 24, were stunned to go behind so early. Cyriel Dessers latched on to a slack pass back from defender Gabriel Busanello and rounded goalkeeper Johan Dahlin, only to see his shot from a tight angle hit the post. However, Bajrami, signed from the Italian side Sassuolo in the summer, was following up and knocked the ball into the empty net.
That goal rattled the home side but they soon got to grips with their task. In the 18th minute Malmö 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 then had to save a Bajrami drive before Dessers mis-controlled inside the box at a vital moment. Five minutes before the break Bajrami sent wide-man Vaclav Cerny racing clear on goal, but the Ranger attacker missed the target with an unconvincing shot.
Bajrami’s effort from 20 yards moments later was much more powerful and drew a fine save from Dahlin, although in another Rangers break, the Albanian returned a pass to Dessers when he should have got a shot away.
Rangers were put under intense pressure at the start of the second half their keeper Jack Butland was well-protected. In the 58th minute Malmö 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 after a Cerny free-kick had Dahlin scrambling to save, but the Portuguese referee Luis Godinho blew for an infringement.
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McCausland replaced the tiring Cerny in the 69th minute before Dessers raced clear of the Malmö defence and cleared the bar with a careless finish. However, McCausland was unerring in his 20-yard drive, the ball skipping in off the post before he and his teammates raced to the corner to take the acclaim of the travelling supporters.
Shortly afterwards there was disappointment when fo Kasanwirjo slammed a shot over the bar with only Dahlin to beat, but 2-0 was a scoreline Rangers would have accepted with gratitude before kick-off.