Rangers kicked off their Europa League campaign with a 2-0 win over Malmo in Sweden which should have been more emphatic.
Midfielder Nedim Bajrami scored his first goal for the Ibrox club less than a minute later and Philippe Clement’s side passed up several chances to add seconds before the interval.
The Swedish champions, unbeaten against Rangers in their previous four meetings in Champions League qualifying, stepped up the pressure after the break, but the Scottish side still missed a chance to add to their lead before substitute Ross McCausland fired in the perfect second in the 76th minute to seal the deal. win.
Nedim Bajrami scored into an empty net after Cyriel Dessers hit the post
It was the biggest test for the Ibrox outfit since their 3-0 loss to Celtic at the start of the month and they arrived in flying colours.
Clement’s side can take confidence from the Scottish Premiership game against Hibernian on Saturday, live on Sky Sportsbefore hosting French side Lyon next week in the second of eight Europa League games.
How Rangers beat Malmo
Bajrami scored his first goal for Rangers in Sweden on his European debut for the club
Before the game Clement had to wrestle with a selection dilemma.
With Jefte suspended and Ridvan Yilmaz among the injured, 22-year-old Dutch defender Neraysho Kasanwirjo, on loan from Feyenoord, was given his first start at left-back, while midfielder Mohamed Diomande took over from Dujon Sterling.
Malmo, eight points clear at the top of the Swedish table and looking on course for the No 24 title, were in shock early on.
Cyriel Dessers latched on to a slow pass from defender Gabriel Busanello and rounded goalkeeper Johan Dahlin only to see a shot from a tight angle but Albania international Bajrami, who joined from Italian side Sassuolo in the summer, pounced on it and beat it. the ball into an empty net.
The goal rattled the home team but it didn’t take long for them to finish their job.
In the 18th minute, Malmo striker Isaac Kiese Thelin, Sweden’s top scorer in the top flight, beat Sergio Pena’s free kick but the offside flag was immediately raised.
Dahlin had to save Bajrami’s drive before Dessers miscontrolled inside the box at an important moment.
Five minutes before the break, Bajrami sent Vaclav Cerny through on goal, but the Gers striker missed the target with an unconvincing shot.
Vaclav Cerny spurned a good chance for Rangers to make it 1-0
Bajrami’s drive from 20 yards later became more powerful and drew a good catch from Dahlin, although, in another Rangers break, the Albanian returned the pass to Dessers when he should have been taken away.
The Govan side were put under intense pressure at the start of the second half by Henrik Rydstrom’s outfit but Gers keeper Jack Butland was still well protected.
In the 58th minute Malmo captain Anders Christiansen ballooned a shot over the bar from 12 yards, hinting that it could be Rangers’ night.
An acrobatic effort at the other end from Dessers after Cerny’s free-kick left Dahlin scrambling to save but Portuguese referee Luis Godinho blew for a foul.
McCausland’s goal doubled the Rangers’ lead
Winger McCausland replaced a tired Cerny in the 69th minute before Dessers raced past the Malmo defense and cleared the bar with a fine finish.
However, Northern Ireland international McCausland made no mistake on a 20-yard drive, the ball skimming off the post before he and other Gers players raced into the corner to receive the applause of the traveling supporters.
There was time for Kasanwirjo to slam a shot over the bar with only Dahlin to beat but it was a scoreline Rangers would receive with gratitude before kick-off.
