Sitting pride of place in madcap Steaua owner Gigi Becali’s home is a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper painting – only with his face superimposed over the image of Christ.
The Rangers support may not be about to deify Philippe Clement but the Ibrox boss can at least sit easy knowing his tea isn’t out just yet. It has been a grim week for the Belgian after his team were cooked by Killie on Sunday, a result that looks to have burned title ambitions after just eight games. But for now Clement can still savour the sweet taste of Europa League hope after his team tucked into a much-needed morale booster against Becali’s Romanians. Gers may have had fresh trouble on their plate early doors had Jack Butland not escaped with a huge reprieve from ref Marco Di Bello after almost gifting Bucharest a second-minute lead.
But having got away with that one, Rangers showed their hunger to repay the fans let down in Ayrshire. They were everything they were not against Derek McInnes’ men – energetic, incisive and, most crucially, clinical in attack. The four goals they scored – two from Vaclav Cerny in between strikes from Tom Lawrence and kid striker Hamza Igamane – were well worked and showed that when in the mood, they’re not that boring an outfit.
And with six points from their first three league phase games, there will be some interesting nights to come as they aim for the qualifying target of 10. Clement insisted this week there was no way he’d ever work for Becali after it was rumoured the controversial Steaua chief had picked his team’s starting XI in Glasgow. In fairness, the Ibrox boss has more pressing concerns clinging on to his job.
Steaua coach Elias Charalambous was keen to dispel the claims of interference from above as he arrived in Glasgow – yet ended up selecting all eight of the players Becali had insisted would play. The bonkers Bucharest blazer certainly has a colourful past.
A former politician, he made his millions in a highly dubious land swap deal with the Romanian army but has gone on to spend time behind bars, including one stretch after having three men he accused of stealing a car kidnapped. On the face of it, that makes his meddling in first-team affairs look all a little tame.
Certainly more menacing than his Steaua ever looked on a night to forget. Clement swapped out Robin Propper and Mohamed Diomande for Leon Balogun and Nico Raskin as he stuck to his favoured 4-2-3-1 system. If he was to avoid another wave of criticism, his team had to put on a show.
Becali may have done a bit of bird but it was Butland who got away with murder inside two minutes as he took an age to deal with John Souttar’s pass back. Before he knew it, David Miculescu was on him, stripping the ball away and firing into the net. The Italian ref was in a generous mood as he blew for a foul but it was remarkable let-off.
The best way to calm nerves was a goal and Gers got it 10 minutes in. James Tavernier clipped a ball into Cerny as the Czech drove into the box. His cutback for Lawrence was on the money and while the Welshman didn’t make the cleanest connection, he got enough on it to send it off Stefan Tarnovanu into the bottom bin.
Joyskim Dawa survived a handball shout when Nedim Bajrami fired the ball off his supporting arm as he slid to stop a cross into the box. All Gers got was a corner, from which Souttar fired wide at the back post. Their half-hearted display at Killie had driven the fans to despair but this time no one could complain about the commitment levels. It was a strange affair, with both teams at times gifting away possession through unforced errors.
But Rangers always looked the hungrier to win it back. They had Butland to thank for a vital stop as Luis Phelipe took aim after Marius Stefanescu pulled a set-piece back to the edge of the box. But when Phelipe was short with a pass to Malcom Edjouma, Cerny was onto it in a flash as he whipped home a peach of a finish.
Clement was forced into an interval change after Lawrence limped off with a knock, with Diomande taking his place in behind Cyriel Dessers. Most of the crowd seemed surprised the Nigerian striker had survived the half-time hook after another woeful first 45. International team-mate Balogun at least made himself useful as he cleared off the line from Siyabonga Ngezana.
Dessers was soon huffing off down the tunnel after taking a blow to the face after a run-in with Mihai Popescu. But it was hardly noticed when Ibrox was left to celebrate again. Sub Diomande was quickly involved as he released Cerny to run into space. As Dessers tangled with the Steaua right-back, Cerny had eyes only for the goal as he drifted past a couple of challenges before coolly rolling into the bottom corner to make it three on 55 minutes.
The fans desperate to see Igamane given his chance got what they were hoping for as he took over up top. And the Moroccan kid soon showed why he should now be given a regular run out on 72 minutes as he twisted his way past Dawa before rifling home No.4.