Rangers respond to 'demanding' Russell Martin criticism with three-goal UEFA Champions League third qualifying round victory over Viktoria Plzen
Updated 05/08/2025 at 22:19 GMT+1
Djeidi Gassama's brace has put Rangers in a strong position in their UEFA Champions League third qualifying round tie against Viktoria Plzen. The forward netted in each half in a 3-0 victory in the first leg in Glasgow, with Cyriel Dessers also scoring. It means Russell Martin's side head to Czechia next week with a commanding advantage, and a step closer to the tournament's play-off round.
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Rangers have moved a step closer to a place in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League after a comfortable victory over Viktoria Plzen.
The two sides met at Ibrox in the first leg of their third qualifying round tie.
The Glasgow team were looking to bounce back from a disappointing 1-1 draw against Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday.
Manager Russell Martin had blasted his squad after that fixture, questioning the "mentality" and "ego" of some of his players.
But they responded in superb fashion, registering an emphatic 3-0 success that stands Rangers in good stead ahead of the second leg in Czechia next week.
Summer signing Djeidi Gassama set the Scottish outfit on their way, playing a one-two with Cyriel Dessers before beating Plzen goalkeeper Florian Wiegele from inside the area.
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The provider then turned goalscorer, confidently converting from the penalty spot after new recruit Oliver Antman had been nudged over in the area.
And as if that was not enough, Gassama doubled his tally for the night after the break, heading home at the back post when meeting Antman's deep cross.
At the other end, Jack Butland was largely a bystander, and it was not until deep in the second-half that he was truly tested by Amar Memic, although the Bosnian's final shot was straight at the goalkeeper.
It was just what the doctor ordered for Martin, who told BBC Scotland: "I’m really happy with a lot of it. I’m a bit annoyed at the last 15 minutes. I thought we got a little bit sloppy and had the ball too much in our own half.
"But it’s my job to be demanding of the guys.
"From Saturday to today, they took everything on. Amazing energy at the start of the game and real moments of quality actually.
"It’s really difficult trying to learn a lot of detail and apply it with the right intensity and courage all the time, especially after a tough afternoon on Saturday.
"So I’m really proud of the team."
Martin, meanwhile, said any talk of the changes he made to his starting line-up compared to the weekend were overblown.
Long-serving player James Tavernier was one of four players who moved to the bench.
But Martin added: "I don’t like the word dropped. I said that to the guys before - you don’t get dropped from the team. We’re going to need everyone.
"People are going to come in, people are going to come out. We needed freshness.
"It’s not easy to drop anyone, especially players that have been really important to this team for the last however long.
"You have to do as the head coach what you think is the best thing for the team to win on the night.
"To be fair to those guys, they’ve come on and played brilliantly when they’ve come on. That’s all you can ever ask for.
"I know there’s a tendency up here... one thing becomes a really big thing really quickly, and it’s not at all.
"Tonight was the best team and Saturday will be a different team again I’m sure, because we have to go again with the same energy and intensity.
"We’re going to have to rely on a lot of players. It’s as simple as that. I don’t think it’s going to be the same XI week in, week out. We’re going to need a lot more than that."
That game on Saturday is Rangers' first home league game of the campaign, against Dundee.
That is followed by their trip to Plzen, and with a 3-0 lead heading into that clash, supporters ought to be confident of making the play-off round.
Should they make it that far, the Ibrox outfit will face either Red Bull Salzburg or Club Brugge for a place in the league phase.
Rangers have not made it past the qualifying rounds in the Champions League since 2022/23, when they were eliminated in the group stage.
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