VfB Stuttgart 1 - 1 Rangers
Boughy Wonderland
Boughy Wonderland
Rangers opened their Champions League campaign with a very creditable draw in Stuttgart thanks to a cracking goal from Madjid Bougherra.
Pavel Pogrebniak found the net with a powerfully placed shot on 18 minutes as Rangers were caught out on the break.
Sasa Papac made a mess of a close-range header as the visitors improved dramatically after the interval.
Bougherra romped forward to smash in a wonderful equaliser on 77 minutes and Steven Davis clipped the post late on.
Rangers had no answer to the pace and energy of the home team in a torrid first 45 minutes but emerged from the break with more discipline and purpose.
And a point away from home was just reward for the visitors, who finished the game at the Mercedes Benz Arena much the stronger side.
Stuttgart sit 12th in the Bundesliga after five games but did not look like a team short on confidence as they tore through the Rangers midfield with ease in the opening stages.
Allan McGregor had to make a smart save inside the first minute to keep out a fierce Cacau strike, while Thomas Hitzlsperger hooked the rebound over the crossbar.
Dropping off hulking target man Pogrebniak, Cacau was causing problems for a flat Rangers defence, which had Lee McCulloch at its heart, deputising for injured skipper David Weir.
The Brazilian-born forward was presented with a good chance when McGregor flapped at a corner but the Ibrox keeper stuck out a foot to divert the shot wide.
The home side's incessant pressure paid off when Cacau charged down an attempted clearance from Papac near the halfway line and broke at speed to tee up Pogrebnyak, who slammed a powerful shot beyond McGregor from 15 yards.
With Kevin Thomson and Pedro Mendes anonymous in central midfield and McCulloch ponderous at the back, Cacau again found space in behind the visitors but could only fire into the side-netting.
There was a further scare for Walter Smith's side seconds before the interval when Pogrebnyak hammered a shot against the crossbar but the Russian international had strayed offside.
Rangers were presented with a glorious opportunity to level at the start of the second half when Papac stole in to meet a Jerome Rothen cross but the Bosnian defender skewed his header horribly wide from six yards.
With the Ibrox side showing more bite up front, Kenny Miller wriggled through a number of challenges before he was eventually crowded out.
However, Rangers were still vulnerable to the swift Stuttgart attacks and Roberto Hilbert and Cacau both fizzed shots off target.
A misplaced, dipping delivery from Rothen almost caught Jens Lehmann out and the former Arsenal keeper was relieved as the ball spun off the base of his post and away to safety.
The veteran German international was similarly confused when beaten by a fantastic goal from Bougherra.
The big Algerian charged out of defence to link up with Rothen and smashed an unstoppable shot home from the edge of the penalty area.
A lightening counter-attack saw Miller feed Steven Naismith 18 yards from goal but the midfielder's shot was blocked by Lehmann after a poor touch from the Rangers man.
And Rangers nearly snatched all three points in the last few minutes when Davis steered a raking strike against the outside of the post from 20 yards out.
VfB Stuttgart: Lehmann, Trasch, Tasci, Delpierre, Boka, Hilbert, Hitzlsperger, Khedira, Hleb (Gebhart 67), Cacau (Schieber 88), Pogrebniak. Subs Not Used: Ulreich, Boulahrouz, Marica, Celozzi, Kuzmanovic.
Goal: Pogrebniak 18
Rangers: McGregor, Whittaker, McCulloch, Bougherra, Papac, Naismith, Davis, Thomson, Mendes, Rothen, Miller (Novo 90). Subs Not Used: Alexander, Boyd, Beasley, Smith, Fleck, Little.
Booked: Papac. Goal: Bougherra 77
Att: 51,000
Ref: Massimo Busacca (Switzerland)
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