Rangers reaction: Dessers in denial, three of a kind, new Rangers song in offing

Rangers defeated Servette 2-1 in the first leg of their Champions League third qualifying round on Tuesday night.

Cyriel Dessers was unhappy with the penalty award for Servette against Rangers.

We pick out three observations from the match at Ibrox, with the second leg to come in Geneva next Tuesday:

Dessers’ denial

The big turning point of Rangers’ match against Servette was the decision to award a penalty to the Swiss club just before half time due for a VAR-awarded handball against Cyriel Dessers. While the ball hit the striker’s hand, it did take a slight deflection off Borna Barisic before doing so following a cross into the Rangers box. The ex-Cremonese man explained why he felt hard done by. “The handball is really unlucky,” he said. “That was confusing for me. Last week, we had a meeting with the referees and they said if it is deflected off a team-mate and it touches your arm, then it is never a penalty. It deflects like one metre in front of me from Borna Barisic’s head and then it hits my arm. So I was 100 per cent convinced that it won’t be a penalty. But okay, he gave it. You have to turn a switch and get back going. It is unlucky and unfortunate for the team as well because we had big momentum at that moment, but that’s football.”

Three of a kind

Michael Beale decided this was the night to put all three of his new forwards that commanded a transfer fee together. Danilo, Sam Lammers and Cyriel Dessers made up a beefy attack that set out the team’s intentions right from the off. While all three had their moments – Dessers indeed scored the second goal – there were also moments that had the Rangers fans irked. Lammers missed a golden chance at 2-0 that could have completely changed the course of the tie and Danilo failed to take proper advantage of some promising moments. Of course, it is very early days with these players and fans should cut them more slack. How they were deployed is far more intriguing. The front line was very narrow, occupying the Servette defenders, with width coming from the full-backs. The system gives Rangers plenty of ammo but does make them susceptible to a counter-attack.

New song at Ibrox

Just before kick-off, a new song was heard over the tannoy at Ibrox. The electronic tones of 90s band Sash! are not usually played in these parts but their hit Ecuador was brought to the party. Clearly, this is because Jose Cifuentes, the 24-year-old Ecuadorian signed from LAFC, is in the house. The midfielder made his debut in the second half against Servette and put in a tidy performance. He liked a goal in the MLS and one expects the tune to be blasted out when he hits the net at Ibrox.