Rangers bounced back from Champions League disappointment with a resounding 5-0 win against Dunfermline in the League Cup at Ibrox on Friday night, with Steven Gerrard's side clearly out to impress after a difficult start to the 2021/22 campaign.

John Lundstram gave the hosts an early lead with his first goal for the club, smashing home Calvin Bassey's cutback in the third minute against the Championship side.

Scott Wright quickly made it 2-0 with a fine individual goal, turning his man before firing emphatically past Deniz Mehmet in the Dunfermline goal. Ianis Hagi then met another fine Bassey cross to make it 3-0 with less than 20 minutes on the clock, with Rangers' place in the quarter-finals secured early on.

Kemar Roofe made it 4-0 shortly after the half-hour mark after some fine play involving Glen Kamara and Joe Aribo, and he completed his brace in the second half with a penalty to complete the scoring.

Why was Bassey Rangers' star vs Dunfermline?

Whilst the former Leeds United man was impressive in front of goal, it was left-back Bassey who was arguably the top performer for Gerrard's side at Ibrox, with his two assists crucial to the victory.

After the disappointment of Tuesday, which saw both Borna Barisic and James Tavernier waste a number of crosses, it was refreshing for Rangers fans to see Bassey and Nathan Patterson look dangerous going forward from full-back, with the 21-year-old's inch-perfect assist for Hagi suggesting that he should perhaps get the nod ahead of his Croatian teammate in future games.

Following the game, Herald Scotland's David Irvine rated Bassey 9/10 for his performance, writing: "Tremendous. The full-back was a standout performer at Ibrox teeing up the first with a clever cut-back before a pinpoint cross for the third. Non-stop running and excellent crossing all night."

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BBC also named the 21-year-old as their man of the match, so it seems that the young defender was indeed the star in an impressive win on Friday night, and has perhaps played himself into contention for the Europa League qualifier against Alashkert next Thursday.

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