PARIS:
The Rangers rushed to the Champions League play-offs on Wednesday with a humiliating 6-0 defeat in the hands of the Club Brugge, which accumulates further pressure on director Russell Martin, while Benfica secured a place in the competition at the expense of Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce.
The Glasgow giants traveled to Belgium against him after lost 3-1 at home in last week’s first leg, when they admitted three times in the opening 20 minutes.
They never looked like the tie, as Club Brugge took the lead within five minutes to Jan Breydelstadion via Nicolo Tresoldi and found five goals ahead at night.
The Rangers declined to 10 men in the eighth minute, when Max Aarons showed a straight red card to carry Christos Tzolis and to refuse the aggressive a clear run on the target.
Visitors duly collapsed as Tzolis hit the bar from the distance before his corner was directed by Hans Vanaken, who hit the wood with a bright volleyball shortly afterwards.
Joaquin Seys added a Quickfire Double before Aleksandar Stankovic-son of the Champions League winner of the Inter Milan Dejan-headed fifth of Hosts night in the first half of the break.
Tzolis finished the route early in the second half, completing a total 9-1 victory for the Belgians.
The defeat fits the heavier margin of Rangers in a European game.
They will fall into the Europa League, while Martin’s position is at risk with the destruction of the Champions League after the launch of their domestic campaign, which has seen them pull in Scotland’s first three matches.
Rangers’ next game is a high -stage derby at Ibrox this weekend against Celtic, who was removed from the Champions League for Kairat Almaty’s Kazakhstan’s penalties on Tuesday.
“All you can do tonight is to accept the pain, to accept humility,” Martin told Broadcaster Tnt Sports.
“We need to heal and become stronger. We have to show a great answer on Sunday.”
Benfica and Fenerbahce had drawn 0-0 in the first leg in Istanbul last week and their tie was finally settled with a single goal in Lisbon, scored by Turkish international Kerem Akturkoglu late in the first half.
This made a loss of return to Estadio da Luz for Mourinho, who was soon coach of Benfica at the beginning of his management career a century ago.
Benfica, who lost to Barcelona over the last 16 last season, has participated in the opponents of the city who are competing in the Thursday phase, while Fenerbahce has to be installed for a position in the Europa League – they did not appear in the Campions League since 2008/09.
Elsewhere, FC Copenhagen defeated Swiss champions Basel 2-0 at night thanks to the second targets by Andreas Cornelius and Youssoufa Moukoko, from a penalty, to go 3-1 in the inert.
Azerbaijan’s Qarabag hit Hungary’s Ferencvaros 5-4, despite the loss of 3-2 seconds at home in Baku.
Leandro Andrade and Abdellah Zoubir scored for Qarabag at night, with Gabi Kanichowsky, Barnabas Varga from a sentence and Alex Toth Netting for visitors.
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