Aris Limassol vs Rangers LIVE: Score, stream, TV, as Dessers goal ruled out after shock home opener as Davis era begins

PEP GUARDIOLA would struggle to sort this mess out.

Rangers chief executive James Bisgrove elected to stay in Glasgow as the search for the seventh permanent Light Blues manager in 12 years goes on.

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Aris’ players celebrate the second goal against Rangers

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It wasn’t the night Steven Davis would have been hoping for

The 1,700 travelling Gers support must have wished they’d done the same.

On a night of abject humiliation, their “heroes” plumbed desperate new depths in Cyprus.

Trudging off at the end, their faces were red as the shirts on their back.

Losing to Limassol inflicted a further pain in the Aris for everyone connected with the crisis-torn Ibrox club.

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What a job the new manager has on his hands.

Right now Rangers are a gang – and a pretty gutless one at that.

Placed in interim charge, you could hardly blame Steven Davis.

As a player, he rarely put a foot wrong.

But thanks to a squad of players so far off the mark, his first tentative steps into management were far less assured.

It’s unlikely he’ll be in charge beyond St Mirren this Sunday.

Yet whoever comes will need to work the kind of miracles only the Manchester City boss seems capable of.

The task of rebuilding Rangers is enormous.

Of course, preparation had been far from ideal.

Davis & Co had just three days to restore confidence following events at Ibrox on Saturday.

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Aris’ Alex Moucketou-Moussounda, left rear, scores against Rangers

In the wake of Michael Beale’s sacking, chairman John Bennett immediately began the hunt for the next Rangers boss.

In the meantime, Davis was left to pick up the pieces.

What a shambles Beale has left behind.

Significantly backed by the board in the transfer market, the vast majority of his 11 signings have bombed.

Of the nine to arrive over the course of the summer, only keeper Jack Butland is worthy of praise.

The rest are a downgrade on last season.

Ultimately, that’s why the 42-year-old was axed just 43 games into the job.

Already seven points behind league leaders Celtic, Europe should have been a welcome distraction at the end of yet another turbulent week.

Instead, it only served to pile on the agony.

The Alphamega Stadium was playing host to its first ever Europa League group stage match.

It was also the setting for Davis’ first ever game in charge.

The interim boss made three changes to the starting line-up, with Ridvan Yilmaz, Jose Cifuentes and the injured Ryan Jack all dropping out.

Borna Barisic, Nico Raskin and Scott Wright returned.

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Aris’ Alex Moucketou-Moussounda celebrates after scoring

As did the same old failings that have haunted Gers all season.

In a torrid opening they were quite literally all over the place.

Aris won’t trouble the knock-out stages of this competition, they’re a poor side.

Which makes the start here all the more damning from a Rangers point of view.

An early Ben Davies loose pass set the tone.

Mass panic engulfed the Rangers backline from that moment on.

With eight minutes gone, Yannick Gomes got away from Connor Goldson far too easily.

His pass was threaded through for Mihlali Mayambela who took it first time, forcing Butland into a fine save.

But from the resultant corner, Aris took the lead – and again fingers were pointed at Goldson.

Rangers switched off, allowing Limassol to work a short corner.

Leo Bengtsson was given time and space to deliver. Goldson hadn’t switched back on and Alex Moucketou-Moussounda totally overpowered him to head the home side ahead.

Straight from kick-off, Abdallah Sima was clear at the other end. But lacking in any kind of conviction the chance quickly came and went.

With 12 minutes gone, Aris should have doubled their lead. Barisic was guilty of giving the ball away with Gomis picking out Bengtsson totally unmarked inside the box.

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Alex Moucketou-Moussounda scores

The Aris winger scooped his effort high over the bar when it looked easier to score.

Cyriel Dessers had the ball in the net for Rangers, before VAR intervened to rightly rule it out.

Aris goal scorer Moucketou-Moussounda was then extremely fortunate to escape with just a yellow card following a wild tackle on Raskin.

Sima then directed a header straight into the arms of Vana as Rangers fought to get back on level terms before the break.

Three minutes into the second half and another lightning quick Aris break almost paid off.

Shavy Babicka picked out Mayambela in acres of space on the edge of the Rangers box.

But with the whole of Butland’s goal to aim at, he blasted high over the bar.

It was another major let off for the visitors.

At the other end, Sima forced Vana into a decent save – but it was about to go from bad to worse for Rangers.

With 59 minutes on the clock, Bengtsson left John Lundstram trailing in his wake.

Sprinting clear of the Gers midfielder, he picked out Babicka with a pin-point close.

From six yards out, the Aris striker made no mistake.

Rangers had been reduced to a laughing stock.

They needed to find something, from somewhere. 

Davis introduced Kemar Roofe and Cifuentes and with 20 minutes left, Sima threw them a lifeline.

Lundstram, attempting to make amends for his part in Limassol’s second goal, swung over a superb criss which Sima headed home.

A Ben Davies blunder almost gifted Aris their two-goal advantage straight back. 

But Butland pulled off a stunning save to deny Aleksander Kokorin at point-blank range.

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Gers, however, couldn’t find an equaliser – jeered off by their fans again.

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