Rangers and Sparta Prague were locked in a scoreless draw in Europa League game week three. The game was pretty dull, but Prague looked the more likely of the two sides to get something from the game.
Both sides massively lacked attacking quality, with Rangers lacking any penetrative attacking play and Sparta Praguemissing that clinical edge in front of goal.
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New manager, same Rangers
Rangers once again looked like an incoherent unit. Michael Beale has gone, but the same stagnant football remains. A lack of any true attacking identity really damaged Rangers this evening, as Sparta Prague were the only team who could create some kind of chance with the possession they had.
Both sides were pretty even in terms of the amount of possession they had, but the lack of penetration in Rangers' passing made their play extremely dull and predictable, with no intent to attack their opponents.
It gets to the point where the problems at Rangers go beyond the coaching staff. They are really paying the price for unintelligent recruitment in the summer, including not signing a proven goalscorer and failing to provide a suitable replacement for Ryan Kent, who would always get Rangers up the pitch.
Defensively, although Rangers kept a clean sheet, they still looked shaky. If it were not for heroics from Butland and Lundstrum, they could have quite easily lost the game due to the fact that they consistently fail to track runs and give their opposition far too much time in the final third.
Another poor night at the office for Rangers, but they have added a point to their tally in Group C, and currently sit third with four points behind Sparta Prague on goal difference.
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Prague lack clinical edge
Prague were by far the better side this evening, creating the more clear-cut chances and asking some real questions of the Rangers defence, forcing some top saves from Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland.
On another night, you would have expected Prague to have taken all three points. But the fact of the matter is that they failed to take the chances they created. They got into very good positions (unlike the Rangers), but just could not score.
Jack Butland made some great saves to keep Rangers in the game, and John Lundstrum made a phenomenal last-ditch tackle in the first half to deny Prague. However, they will be frustrated that they didn't take all three points from the game with the chances they had. If Prague had a clinical forward on the pitch tonight, they would be sitting at the top of Group C.
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Jack Butland, Rangers Saviour
The best piece of summer recruitment for Rangers once again shows why he is Rangers number one. Another top performance from the former England goalkeeper, who once again has saved Rangers points. If it wasn't for a tremendous double save early on in the game, Rangers could have quite easily been 1-0 down after 5 minutes and on their way to another European defeat. Instead, he constantly kept the Rangers in the game, and whenever he was called upon, he came up with a great response to save his team a point. A very impressive performance.
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All to play for in Group C
Group C is still wide open after three match days, with just a point separating second and bottom. Every team in the group has lost at least a game, and the final three fixtures in this group are set to be extremely exciting.
Matchweek Four is the return fixture for those that were played this week. Rangers host Sparta Prague at IBROX, and Aris Limassol travels to Spain to face Group Leaders Real Betis. Both games kick off at 8 p.m. on Thursday, November 9.
