Sam Lammers, Danilo, Abdallah Sima and Kieran Dowell all scored their first competitive goals for Rangers as the Light Blues came on strong to beat Livingston 4-0 in the cinch Premiership at Ibrox.
Attacking midfielder Lammers hammered in the opener after 10 minutes as the hosts dominated but it was late in the second half before Michael Beale’s new-look side secured the points.
Brazilian attacker Danilo headed in a second in the 78th minute before Sima pounced from close range six minutes later with fellow second-half substitute Dowell thrashing in a fourth in the final minute of normal time.
The Govan outfit lost their league opener at Kilmarnock last week before beating Servette 2-1 in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier at Ibrox on Wednesday night.
Boss Beale – who has signed nine new players this summer with the promise of more to come – will see this as a building block for his side but more will be required going forward, starting with the return game against Servette on Tuesday night.
As Beale revealed on Friday, Jose Cifuentes, the 24-year-old Ecuador international midfielder signed last week from Los Angeles FC, made his starting debut. Centre-back Leon Balogun was back in again for the first time since returning to the club for a second spell, with Ryan Jack and Connor Goldson rested.
It was a patient start by the home side and the opener came when influential midfielder Todd Cantwell’s shot from inside the box was blocked by the foot of Livi keeper Shamal George but Lammers slammed in the rebound from 16 yards.
The goal forced Livi to come out their shell a little although a mix-up in defence allowed John Souttar a shot at goal only for the Gers defender to balloon the ball high over the bar, before George dived full length to tip a Cifuentes drive past the post.
When captain James Tavernier’s delivery came over, Cifuentes volleyed into the net at the second attempt but after a VAR check, referee Don Robertson awarded a free-kick to Livingston for an initial hand ball by the midfielder.
The tempo dropped towards the end of the first half which finished with Light Blues forward Cyriel Dessers heading a Tavernier cross over the bar.
Lammers headed a Borna Barisic cross just wide of the target at the start of the second period and missed the target again from a Dessers cut-back, after George had made a fine save from a Danilo drive.
In a rare Livingston attack, Gers keeper Jack Butland was tested twice in a minutes by Andrew Shinnie, twice making good saves before Livi defender Ayo Obileye threw himself to block a Dessers drive from 14 yards after he had been set up by Danilo, the corner coming to nothing.
In a 68th minute counter-attack, Danilo flicked a Cifuentes cross over the bar from two yards out which cranked up frustration levels, however all was soon well in Govan.
Rabbi Matondo and Sima came on for Lammers and Dessers and in the 77th minute Sima drove a shot from point-blank range against George but the second goal was on its way, coming when Barisic’s deep cross found Danilo at the back post and he rose to head past the Livi keeper for his first Gers goal and alleviate the building pressure.
Dujon Sterling came on among more substitutions to make his Rangers debut before Danilo hit the post from close range.
Sima then opened his account in a Light Blue jersey and there was time for Dowell, on for Cantwell, to fire in off the crossbar for number four to make his mark at Ibrox.
Van Dijk welcomes Slot arrival as Liverpool captain commits to Reds future
Virgil van Dijk insists his future remains solely with Liverpool as the Reds captain welcomed incoming Dutch compatriot Arne Slot.
Slot will replace Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager, with the Dutchman expected to take charge at Anfield from Saturday after sealing his switch from Feyenoord.
The soon-to-be Liverpool boss leaves the Netherlands after three highly successful seasons with Feyenoord, having led them to the league title in 2023.
Slot will be welcomed by two fellow countrymen on the red side of Merseyside, with Van Dijk and Ryan Gravenberch eager to link-up with their new manager.
As Netherlands began their Euro 2024 training camp on Monday, Van Dijk told a news conference: "I still have a year left on my contract.
"I am club captain and I have made it clear I am there for the new coach and enthusiastic over the next season.
"Obviously, there will be a lot of changes but I am confident we will make a big success of it.
"I congratulated [Slot] of course and I'm really pleased for him and his family. We spoke about the team and the future but now my focus is fully on the national team."
Slot's reign ended with six straight league wins and Feyenoord did not lose any of his final 20 Eredivisie matches at the helm, their last defeat coming against PSV on December 3.
The 45-year-old oversaw exactly 150 games in charge of Feyenoord across all competitions, winning 98 of those contests (65.33 per cent).
Slot also won the KNVB Cup glory in April, overseeing a 1-0 win over NEC Nijmegen in the final of that competition, and Gravenberch believes that success has earnt his Liverpool move.
"I think he can be good for my career, he's a coach who wants to play good football," added Gravenberch.
UEFA and FIFA warned to halt Super League opposition by Spanish court
FIFA and UEFA have been told to stop their opposition against the European Super League (ESL), with a Spanish court ruling warning of anti-competitive behaviour and abuse of a dominant position.
Madrid's commercial court said on Monday the European and world governing bodies violated competition law by banning and punishing clubs from participating in a proposed new tournament.
FIFA and UEFA were told to reverse any anticompetitive actions committed in the past after A22 Sports Management, the company behind the plan to create the ESL, brought the case to Spanish court.
"It's an important step towards a truly competitive and sustainable club football landscape in Europe," A22 CEO Bernd Reichart said in a statement after the ruling.
"For too long UEFA has been allowed to control and dominate club football at European level."
Reichart added that UEFA's position on the ESL has "stifled innovation for decades", though celebrated "the era of the monopoly [as] definitively over".
The case was also brought against LaLiga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), though that pair and UEFA insisted the court ruling did not explicitly support the creation of the Super League.
"The court has not given the green light to, nor has it approved, projects like the Super League," UEFA said in a follow-up statement.
"In fact, the judge has asserted that the Super League project has long been abandoned and that she cannot be expected to rule on any abstract projects.
"In short, the judgment does not give third parties the right to develop competitions without authorisation and does not concern any future project or indeed any modified version of an existing project."
English football's so-called 'big six' – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham – were founding members of the original Super League project in April 2021.
Yet those Premier League clubs quickly withdrew amid fan protests and pressure from the football authorities, with Milan, Inter and Atletico Madrid following a similar suit.
UEFA has since changed its rules around new competitions following the collapse of the ESL proposal in April 2021 and the court says those new rules are unaffected by Monday's ruling.
"The court also confirmed that the current version of UEFA's authorisation rules [as adopted in June 2022] is not affected by today's ruling," the European governing body added.
Bonmati named Women's Champions League Player of Season for second straight campaign
Aitana Bonmati secured the Women's Champions League Player of the Season for a second straight campaign after guiding Barcelona to European glory.
The Spain international scored in Saturday's 2-0 victory over Lyon in the final, helping Jonatan Giraldez's side clinch an unprecedented quadruple.
Fellow Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas produced the other goal in that victory, but Bonmati was named Player of the Match after another eye-catching performance.
With six goals and six assists, the 26-year-old managed more goal contributions than any other player in this season's Champions League, and that earned Bonmati further individual recognition.
"She influenced the game all over the pitch in and out of possession. High progressive passes, high ball recoveries and scored a great goal," UEFA's technical observer panel said in a statement.
Bonmati also scored eight goals in Barcelona's victorious Liga F campaign this season, helping the Spanish giants win the competition for a fifth consecutive time.
Having already won the Ballon d'Or and FIFA's best women's player award for 2023, this UEFA award caps a fine season for the impressive Bonmati.
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