IT’S OUR OWN FAULT, SAYS GERRARD
YOUNG BOYS.. 2 RANGERS ....... 1
RANGERS manager Steven Gerrard last night admitted his side only had themselves to blame for an agonising defeat to Young Boys in Berne. The Ibrox club had gone ahead late in the first half through Alfredo Morelos and looked well on their way to another impressive Europa League result. However, the hosts mounted a second-half fightback with Rangers skipper James Tavernier culpable as Roger Assale levelled and Christian Fassnacht struck in stoppage-time. Insisting the blame for the loss should be shared, Gerrard felt his players did not do enough to punish the Swiss champions. ‘Football can be cruel at times,’ said Gerrard after the Group G clash. ‘We have to take it on the chin. We only have ourselves to blame. We gifted Young Boys victory. ‘I thought what we put into the game and from a tactical point of view, the players have gone out and done so well. ‘We took the lead the first time we really showed some
belief and backed ourselves in the final third — we went and executed. ‘We had another chance just after it and we said to the boys at half-time I expected a reaction and I expected them to come after us — and we have conceded at a poor time. ‘We haven’t been outplayed and we haven’t faced a piece of brilliance — it’s from us and we have gifted them a way back into the game for them to equalise at 1-1.’ While pointing the finger of blame at his charges, Gerrard (right) felt his side were denied a clear penalty when Morelos had his ankles clipped by Ulisses Garcia with the score 1-1. ‘Big moments in the game have gone against us,’ added Gerrard. ‘I think if we had VAR tonight, they would have had a second yellow for (Frederik) Sorensen as Alfredo got a yellow card for exactly the same incident, so that never went for us. ‘The keeper has then made a world-class save at 1-1 where we could have taken the lead from that and we have not got a blatant penalty as well. ‘So there were big moments at big times in the second half that haven’t gone our way. ‘Then for their second goal, again we haven’t been outplayed or faced a moment of brilliance — we have gifted them their second goal. ‘So we have shown naivety in terms of game management and individual errors have cost us.’ With Feyenoord defeating Porto, every side in the section now has one win and a loss, with Rangers next facing a double-header against the Portuguese club. Reflecting on the ending of a five-game winning streak, Gerrard continued: ‘It stings right now as it is still very raw and we are disappointed we haven’t taken something from the game. ‘Moving forward, we need to learn from gifting teams a route back into the game or gifting teams three points.’