Celtic kicked off their Europa League campaign with a 1-1 draw against Red Star away in Serbia. It was not a great result by any means, but one that gives the Hoops a base to build upon. Will the Rangers be able to do the same, or better, when they start their European run, as they take on Genk in their opener? That remains to be seen.
The last time the Rangers faced a Belgian team, they lost 6-0. Of course, it was earlier this season, in the Champions League qualifier against Club Brugge. Will Russell Martin's side do any better this time? You would think they almost have to.
But Martin has made a selection decision for the matchup that Rangers fans are not happy with. And they have made it known.
The manager has dropped Bojan Miovski for Youssef Chermiti. Ibrox News have written an entire article questioning the decision, with the title 'Russell Martin asks for Rangers sack after shock call vs Genk'. That just goes to show what their supporters think of that call.
'Asks for Rangers sack' - Celtic will love what Russell Martin has done
Miovski was supposed to be the signing that saved the Rangers' season. In fact, many Celtic fans would have been happy if the Hoops had signed him. But now, he is not even starting a matchup of this magnitude for Martin. On the other hand, the former Everton man has not scored in two years.
What is even more is that the Rangers signed Chermiti in a £10 million deal from Everton this summer. A player with three senior-level goals in 46 appearances, all of them coming back at Sporting CP. What do you think Celtic fans would say if the Hoops made that kind of signing?
That just goes on to show how confused the recruitment has been at Ibrox this summer. They spent plenty of money in hopes of catching up to Celtic but instead of closing down the gap, they might have somehow managed to widen it.
Now, this is not to say that Chermiti could not prove to be a good player at Ibrox. But on paper, does that look like a great signing, especially for £10 million?
Of course, Celtic have had their fair share of problems as well. The only reason everybody has written off this season already is because of how bad the Hoops' summer transfer window was. That being said, the late signings of Sebastian Tounekti and Kelechi Iheanacho look like they might have been better than they were being given credit for.