Gerrard rues giving visitors too much respect

STEVEN GERRARD reckons Rangers gave Bayer Leverkusen too much respect at Ibrox as their Europa League dreams suffered a significant setback.

The Bundesliga side produced an accomplished showing to take control of the tie and George Edmundson’s second-half header was only a consolation.

The Light Blues are still waiting to discover when the second leg will be played in Germany and it was an evening of mixed emotions for Gerrard as his side were left with nothing to show for their efforts.

He said: “The scoreline is a tough one for us to take, losing 3-1 at home is disappointing.

“You have to pay respect to the opposition, a good team, good style, some real high-class individuals. We were too respectful in the first 45. We had a good shape but were passive, not aggressive enough.

“[I] got what I wanted in the second half, forced them into areas, got some success. Had some opportunities. But the goal we then conceded is a top, top finish. The third one, I’m disappointed, we didn’t defend that very well.

“It does feel like a killer. The first goal, a penalty, we ask for VAR to get decisions right. It probably is the right decision but it’s a tough one.

“We’ve done ever so well to get back into the game. At 2-1 it’s not the end of the world, a scoreline you can fight for.

“We will go next week and give it our best shot, hopefully find a 90-minute performance rather than a 45-minute performance.

“I was really pleased with a lot of the second half. The subs were positive, the crowd came with us. We had a top team and some top players rattled. We just showed them too much respect in the first half.

“But, look, where we are is where we are in the Europa League. I can’t criticise the players for the journey they’ve taken us on. We matched Leverkusen for a lot of that game.”