Precise, perfectly on point and with destructive consequences in the first half. Then strangely flaky and unreliable for a short while in the second.
But enough about this latest Jekyll and Hyde show from Rangers. This was also a night when VAR turned in a game of two halves.
Having helped Steven Gerrard’s side secure a commanding position – when a linesman’s flag was overturned and a tap-in for Kemar Roofe was green-lighted – the TV officials then contributed to it becoming a little bit more nerve-jangling than it ought to have been when they failed to give a blatant penalty after the break.
Had that foul on Joe Aribo been spotted – and it was so blatant it was harder to miss – Rangers might have enjoyed a relatively stress-free night for the first time in this Euro campaign.
Bright, dynamic and back to something close to their best, Gerrard’s men stormed into an early lead with an opener from Leon Balogun before replays proved Roofe was onside when he poked home the second.
Not for the first time this season a wobble arrived at the start of the second half but as soon as they settled into their stride again Aribo was sent sprawling. Bad enough that the ref didn’t spot it. That between them the men with the remote controls couldn’t see it almost beggared belief.
But even so in the end Rangers were able to see this out comfortably to secure their first points in Group A.
After aiming a couple of very public shots across his striker’s bow since the weekend, Gerrard opted to stick rather than twist by sending Alfredo Morelos out to lead his line again. Instead, it was Scott Wright who dropped out with Roofe’s firepower added to the attack.
And with Glen Kamara banned, Steve Davis was unleashed from his bespoke, bubble-wrapped tracksuit and returned to the heart of the midfield alongside John Lundstram and Aribo. All of which led to Lundstram to budge over one berth to the left with Davis in the centre and Aribo slightly to his right.
And even though there was a scare in the opening seconds when the Rangers defence was caught napping under a long ball and Mikael Uhre lashed a snapshot over the bar, in no time Gerrard’s team settled quickly into the sort of slick, fast-paced rhythm which has become such a trademark under this manager.
With the Danes looking rattled by the speed and precision of the passes whizzing around, Lundstram had a shot charged down before Aribo let fly with a drive from distance which dipped inches over. This was the opening Gerrard had been looking for. Very soon, it would become even better.
With just 17 minutes on the clock, skipper James Tavernier stood over a corner on the right-hand side, in front of the visiting fans who pelted him with whatever came to hand.
He appealed to the linesman for protection and then took matters into his own hands, arrowing a delivery onto the head of Balogun who towered above everyone to power it towards goal.
Veteran keeper Thomas Mikkelsen reacted like a teenage cat to hurl himself to his left but even though he got a hand on it, Balogun’s bullet was travelling too fast for him to stop.
And, in that moment, Rangers assumed complete control.
Yes, there was one more jittery moment when Uhre picked out Andrija Pavlovic with a cutback but the Serb’s shot flashed over. The rest of the half was spent deep inside Danish territory.
And when VAR stepped in to double Rangers’ lead on the half hour, it really did feel as if all three points were already in the bag.
It was another, immaculately stylish move which caused the damage with Aribo and Hagi combining superbly to slice a hole through Brondby’s defence.
Aribo hit the byline before picking out Morelos with a chip and even though his killer touch ran out on him again –fluffing a header straight at Mikkelsen – Roofe was loitering to stab home from a yard out. He was instantly flagged offside but replays showed only his shoulder was beyond the boots of Henrik Heggheim and the correct decision was then made.
Rangers would eventually go in 2-0 up at half-time but Morelos was getting closer to adding his name to the sheet all the while, forcing one fine save out of Mikkelsen before rattling the base of a post in the dying seconds.
The second half began as the first had, with Uhre thundering through on Allan McGregor, this time racing onto the end of a horrendously sloppy pass from Borna Barisic. And once again the striker’s aim was out as he lashed wide when he seemed sure to score.
But this time Rangers reacted as if they’d seen a ghost of games gone by.
Visibly spooked, they gave up another big chance when Jens Martin Gammelby fired for goal only for Balogun to block in the nick of time.
All of a sudden Gerrard had cause to fret having seen this movie more than once already this season. But after a ropey 10 minutes Rangers began to rediscover their confidence and should have been awarded a penalty before the hour when the unplayable Aribo was taken out by a panic-stricken Sigurd Rosted inside the box.
Again it went to VAR but this time, quite inexplicably, the men in the video booth failed to spot what appeared a blatant foul even to the naked eye. Another blow followed when Balogun felt a hamstring twang and had to be replaced by Calvin Bassey.
Wright and Scott Arfield also arrived and within seconds they combined superbly to carve out another chance. Arfield’s snap shot, though, clipped the bar to deny Rangers a third goal.
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