So Rangers bow out of Europe with a fairly poor evening in Govan in which Benfica were the deserved winners. Ibrox Noise rates the players on the end of Rangers’ European campaign.

Butland:

Got over his England omission well, had a strong night and had a couple of good saves. Solid. Zero chance with the goal. 7

Tavernier:

Did very little of note, despite being so advanced had little influence in attack despite a lot of crosses. Did bail out Goldson once or twice and defensive did as much as anyone but a quiet evening otherwise from the captain. 6

Goldson:

Another bad moment when caught isolated and gave away a booking but he was honestly left exposed. He wasn’t great but the tactics killed him and made him look even worse. But did get in one or two very big blocks. 6

Souttar:

Colossal. Didn’t do a thing wrong, was big in the block, tackle, and in the air, and offered something in attack. Maybe his best performance as a Rangers player. 9

Ridvan:

Wasn’t able to deliver much quality in this one, seemed a bit lost and didn’t seem to get the bite on matches he usually can. 6

Lunny:

One slack moment where he lost his man, but otherwise a big night with strong use of the ball and hard running. He worked his socks off. 7

Diomande:

Dreadful. Really, really struggled out there, looked a rabbit in headlights and was a pale shadow of his much more productive self from the first leg. 4

Silva:

Worked like a dog but was a bit slow to make his mind up. Blamed Ridvan for his own error late on. Was better in the first leg. 5

Wright:

Had three incredibly bright moments, looking like Messi, but aside them looked absolutely out of his depth. A weird player who can be ridiculous before mucking it all up. 5

Lawrence:

A few very nice moments, some very nice touches, but that inescapable feeling he just doesn’t influence matches enough. Lacked killer final product. 6

Dessers:

Worked as hard as anyone, and despite the hate he’s getting (again) he didn’t have his worst night. Got in a shot or two, pressed, and didn’t hide. He did ok but he was working with scraps. 6

Subs:

Cantwell:

Was well off the pace and it showed. Tried but he was miles rusty. 4

Matondo:

Pretty much the same as Cantwell. Only fractionally sharper. 5

The rest were unable to change things.

Manager:

This is one that heavily sits on Philippe Clement. He made the players take a suicidally high line which left us exposed at every set piece in the opposing half – one such occasion cost us the tie. He tried to compensate for Sterling, but unfortunately, the risk there that he took starting him v Hibs bit us on the backside as the side just had no protection on the right. Wright can’t do Sterling’s job. He took the risk of playing high and going for the win, and honestly, we don’t know why he was so cavalier in a match that was in the balance. His tactics made the defence look suicidal when in reality none of them had really bad matches. He clearly decided to go gung-ho for the win and defend from the front. It didn’t work, not with the players he chose. His worst night in Europe and probably as Rangers manager. The silver lining is we can concentrate on the league and cup now. 4