Fenerbahce 1-3 Rangers: Razor-sharp Rangers

Morning all, I don't think I'll be the only one to say that last night's result was a big surprise. We might be the only team in football history that has a loss at home to Queens Park and a win away to Fenerbahce within a few weeks of each other. The best place to start is by going over the game.

I was surprised to see the 3 at the back when the game kicked off. It crossed my mind briefly when the lineup was announced but I thought Ridvan might struggle as the right wing back. I've been critical of the management team so far, so I'll credit them here. The balance of the midfield was absolutely perfect. Diomande having license to drop in and make a more traditional 3 was a great way to use him. Cerny had a bit of a free attacking role alongside Dessers, which got the best out of the two as a partnership.

Matching up the oppositions shape is a great way to limit the spaces you leave for them to exploit. Matching up the shape while allowing some flexibility in areas where the opposition are rigid is a great way to exploit the space yourself.

The start was everything that we could have hoped for. We were ambitious in the press considering the circumstances. My preview was already getting long, so I didn't mention that a recent feature of Mourinho teams on the way down are lots of individual errors. His systems tend to expose individuals, I think it's one of the reasons why he gets push back from the players. When met with the pressing triangle of Diomande, Cerny and Dessers; the backline looked a little lost as to where to go, eventually the ball came off Diomande and fell for Dessers in the opposition area. He coolly rounded the onrushing keeper and passed the ball towards goal. Initially it looked like Soyuncu had cleared the effort, but the referee's watch confirmed it was a goal.

Dessers putting Rangers ahead early on with a brilliant take and finish

The shape in the first half was excellent. The first goal was an example of our out of possession shape in Fenerbahce's final third. We were able to commit to pressing the back 3 and midfield 2 because the wing backs and Tadic were often nowhere to be seen in the home team's half.

The pattern of the game following the goal became very clear. The home side tried to create overloads in wide areas and then cross the ball to their forwards. I thought the wide centre backs did very well to support the wing backs and deal with any balls that got past them. The 3 midfielders were happy to track any runners from deep to prevent any additional issues cropping up.

When we had the ball, we looked to switch it early or get it up to Dessers to hold the ball up. Diomande was the crucial cog in allowing us to transition from defence to attack, as he often is. The Ivorian was happy to take the ball anywhere on the pitch, he twisted and turned away from any pressure before moving the ball forward. Without his composure I don't think we'd have looked as capable on the break.

One of the Turkish sides threats I mentioned in the preview was set pieces. The delivery was good, and they had plenty of targets to aim for. They found their equaliser from one of those corners. A near post delivery was flicked on, and at the back post Djiku produced a fantastic finish past Jack Butland.

The stadium erupted. I started to worry that the team might fold under the weight of the atmosphere. The going was rocky for the next 10 minutes or so, Fenerbahce were direct and had a few half chances and we started to rush our counter attacking opportunities. But I think this team exemplified some of the steel that the interim manager has tried to impart in his short time in charge, and that he showed so much in his playing career.

That steel took the form of a brilliant second goal. Raskin won the ball well on halfway and found Cerny who had acres of space in the middle. The Czech drove forward and played the ball wide to Dessers, the Nigerians first time return pass was absolutely phenomenal. Cerny arrived and finished back across the keeper with the kind of composure we've come to expect.

At half time I was a bit unsure of how much of the game was us playing well or Fenerbahce playing poorly. I didn't know if we'd be able to sustain that level of performance. My thought was that Mourinho might respond with a switch to a back 4, as he's deployed that set up in a few games this season.

So how would we cope with that change? Very well it seemed. The change from Mourinho backfired if anything, we found even more space on the break.

We could even afford to have a few dress rehearsals for the third goal. Raskin was finding plenty of space to get forward and he collected a loose ball in the box before firing at the Fenerbahce goal, the keeper saved the shot but Dessers pounced on the rebound. After a long VAR check the goal was disallowed for offside in a call that looked more than a little dubious? Especially as the only part of the Nigerian that seemed offside was his left arm.

Less than 10 minutes later, we had another breakaway. Jefte feed our number 9 who finished well at the near post. Once again, a long VAR check finished with the goal being disallowed.

It would have been very nice to have that two goal cushion early on in the second half. But credit to the players, they diligently stuck to their task without letting the disallowed goals affect them. The back 3 as a unit were superb all night, especially when it came to dealing with crosses into the area. Balogun had been introduced after a Butland-induced injury forced Robin Propper from the field early on in the game. He showed no signs of rust and met every challenge with his usual gusto.

The main threat from Fenerbahce arrived with the substitution of Allan Saint-Maximin onto the left hand side. The former Newcastle and Nice winger is known for his trickery, and Ridvan really struggled to live with him 1v1. I have to praise the management team who acted quickly by introducing Dujon Sterling for the Turkish wing back.

While the diminutive number 3 tried to back off and time his interventions. His replacement made a point immediately of getting tight to the French winger, and taking the ball by force. It was a great change given the fact we'd allowed 3 or 4 dangerous crosses in the short time Saint-Maximin had been on the park.

After that the game seemed to pass by in fairly tense but comfortable Fenerbahce possession, crosses and shots from distance. The crowning jewel of the performance was Cerny being set free from just inside our own half, facing the keeper and rolling the ball past him.

Vaclav Cerny's brace leaves him on 17 goals in all comps with 6 of them coming in the Europa League.

The game finished 3-1 to Rangers and honestly that score line probably didn't do us justice given some of the chances we had on the counter and the harshly disallowed goals.

Make no mistake, this was an excellent tactical performance from top to bottom. I have to give massive credit to the interim staff for getting the approach to this game absolutely spot on. I even noticed the shape shifted slightly in the second half to more of a 5-4-1 to provide more cover in the wide areas.

I think if Rangers have somehow unearthed another manager who can perform consistently in Europe but struggles domestically I may lose my mind. That comment actually brings me back down to earth a little, the management team deserve massive credit for this result, but it really wasn't that long ago that Clement was bombing in league matches and winning big games in Europe. That was happening with this same group of players, but Clement never changed his system the way Barry did last night. As a result though, let's not get too excited at what is a fantastic first leg performance, especially when we have the second leg to come.

The manager was effusive of the players performances and the togetherness in the team, as you'd expect. There wasn't any big surprises in the interview but he was keen to stress that the form at Ibrox has been a "problem" and he wants to address that next week in the return leg. All positive words, but we need to see that action on the pitch.

Thanks for reading everyone and I hope you all have a great weekend. There's much to ponder before the game next week, hopefully no one gets injured in training.