Oh Hyeongyu nets winner as Genk beat Rangers 1-0

Genk defeated Rangers 1-0 at Ibrox on Thursday in their Europa League opener as former Celtic striker Oh Hyeongyu converted a second-half finish after Rangers were reduced to 10 men late in the first half. The result compounded pressure on Rangers manager Russell Martin and handed the Belgian side three points in Group stage play.

The match’s turning point came in the 41st minute when Mohamed Diomande was shown a straight red card for a high, lunging challenge on Genk wingback Zakaria El Ouahdi. Earlier, Rangers had seen a couple of promising openings and Genk struck the woodwork, but the dismissal forced Rangers to play the entire second half a man down. In first-half stoppage time Oh had a penalty saved by Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland after a VAR review had already overturned an earlier penalty appeal for the home side.

Genk’s solitary goal arrived in the 55th minute. Jarne Steuckers threaded a through ball that split the Rangers defence and Oh finished from close range beyond Butland. The striker removed his shirt in celebration and was booked for the gesture. He later had a close-range effort ruled out for offside, but Genk held on despite late pressure from the hosts.