Thrilling Thursdays have been Rangers’ saviour this season, but why have they impressed in the Europa League during a dismal domestic campaign?
The Gers find themselves 15 points behind Celtic in the Scottish Premiership, out of the Scottish Cup after an embarrassing home loss to Championship side Queen’s Park, and they lost the League Cup final to Celtic.
That Queen’s Park defeat was also the start of a record five-match losing streak at Ibrox, with Philippe Clement sacked as manager during that run.
Despite all their woes at home, come Thursday night in the Europa League, Rangers are a different animal. They could book their place in the semi-finals this week, something few would have thought possible given their tumultuous season.
So why does it appear anything is possible on the European stage?
The story in Europe so far…
Rangers dropped into the Europa League after failing to qualify for the Champions League, losing to Dynamo Kyiv over two legs.
They went on to progress from the league phase of the competition, despite being the only club to face four of the top eight teams that also qualified automatically.
Within that run – under previous boss Clement – Rangers drew with Spurs and narrowly lost away to Manchester United.
While a thumping defeat in Lyon also came along the way, Rangers did claim wins at Malmo and Nice, plus a draw away to Olympiacos. Home wins against FCSB and then Union SG on the final matchday saw Rangers book their place in the last-16.
Barry Ferguson then took to the dugout and went up against Jose Mourinho. However, like Rangers have done so often, they dug deep in the face of adversity and won 3-1 away to Fenerbahce in Istanbul. They did lose 2-0 at Ibrox but heroics from Jack Butland saw them progress on penalties.
When Robin Propper was sent off against Athletic Club, it looked like their luck could be about to run out, but they held on as Liam Kelly saved a penalty to take a goalless draw into the second leg of this quarter-final tie.
Rangers are now three games away from another European final.
How did they do it?
Since Ferguson took over, he has not been afraid to mix things up.
A change in formation has seen them switch to a back five on the continent, as opposed to their more traditional 4-3-2-1 set-up domestically.
That has seen them adopt a deeper starting point on the pitch as they soak up the pressure in Europe. As a result, they have conceded far less. In the Premiership, when Rangers have a back-four, they have conceded at least twice in every game under Ferguson. In Europe, they average just one goal a game against them.
It is a change that has suited Rangers both defensively and offensively. On the attack – it means Cyriel Dessers, Vaclav Cerny, Hamza Igamane and co have had more room to get in behind their opponents’ back line.
Rangers often find themselves with the majority of the ball domestically, but a lot less in Europe. However, they have used that to their advantage and exploited the gaps in defence left by their opponents, hitting them on the counter with more fast transitions.
The underdog tag is not one you often associate with Rangers but in Europe, being more pragmatic and having less of the ball is certainly working for them.
Ferguson ‘excited’ by challenge in Bilbao
Ferguson is relishing the challenge facing Rangers in Bilbao as he bids to guide the Ibrox club into the semi-finals.
“I am excited about going, but I’m also respectful. It’s going to be tough for us. But as a footballer, as a manager, I’m excited about it,” he said.
“I’m excited about getting into that sort of atmosphere. What an opportunity we’ve got. The game’s wide open. The main thing for me last Thursday was making sure we were still in the tie. The guys deserved to still be in the tie.
“We’ll go there on Thursday, knowing our jobs, what way we’re going to play, because we need to get it spot on.
“We need to be bang on the button with our tactics. I already know what way we’re going to approach it and what way we’re going to go about it. So there’s going to be a bit of work on the training ground.
“But I give the boys a lot of credit. They’ve been brilliant to take the information on. It’s tough because it’s a different way that we’re playing tactically, with and without the ball as well, so we know there’s a lot of work to be done. But we’ll get there and we’ll be prepared, ready to go on Thursday night.”
Athletic Club end scoring drought
While Rangers managed a late draw in Aberdeen, Athletic warmed up for the crunch clash with a 3-1 win against Rayo Vallecano.
It ended a three-game goalless run as they remained fourth in La Liga, three points behind Atletico Madrid.
Manager Ernesto Valverde was criticised for their goalless draw at Ibrox, with many seeing them as favourites to win the season’s Europa League with the final at their home stadium in May.
They could be without Inaki Williams for the return leg. The forward, who has scored 11 goals this season, was forced off in stoppage time with a hamstring strain.
