How Rangers and Europa League seem made for each other

As former Rangers midfielder Scott Arfield put it, the Ibrox club and the Europa League seem to be a match made in heaven. This season, like many before it, Europe's second-tier competition has been a savior for Rangers amidst a turbulent domestic campaign.

Victory over St Gilloise secured their unlikely place in the top eight and a smooth passage to the last 16, marking Rangers' fifth consecutive appearance in the Europa League knockout stages. As manager Philippe Clement emphasized post-match, they achieved this once again despite an extremely difficult schedule and a plethora of injuries, particularly in defense.

With pressure mounting due to league form, especially away from home, the Rangers manager can now point to an impressive achievement this season. “It’s nice that people are starting to see more and more things that maybe people didn’t believe a few months ago,” Clement said. “Qualifying for the Europa League is one of them. The club is on the right track. Is it fast enough to win everything? That is our ambition.”

“We need to create that culture and I’m seeing it more and more. They know what it means to play for this club.” It is worth highlighting just how rocky Rangers' road to the top eight was, starting the final matchday in 13th place. They ended up facing four of the other seven teams that went straight into the last 16, namely Manchester United, Tottenham, Lyon and Olympiacos.

Across their eight games, they ended up using seven different defensive combinations due to a series of injuries. Right-back Nereysho Kasanwirjo played at left-back against Malmo before suffering a season-ending injury. Left-back Ridvan Yilmaz had to play at right-back against two Premier League teams, while James Tavernier ended up playing at center-back against both Manchester United and Union. In the game against the Belgians at Ibrox, diminutive right-winger Ross McCausland filled in at right-back after Leon King was forced off with a head injury in the first half. In the final two games, Rangers fielded several teenagers.

Considering all of that, their resilience has been impressive, eventually finishing in eighth place, only surpassed by three teams. “Maybe we don’t have the talent of other teams, but it’s about mentality,” Clement said. “There’s been a belief from day one, but it’s about sticking to it and giving everything we have. We’ve had to be very creative in the last few months, but we’ve done that really well. Huge clubs with huge budgets have finished behind us and around us, and the achievement is only bigger by beating four of the top seven teams.”

Rangers can now wait and watch the knockout round play-offs next month, knowing they will face either Bodo/Glimt, Anderlecht, Twente, or Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce. All will pose a challenge, but none will hold any fear for Rangers. In the current squad, only Tavernier and Leon Balogun played a significant part in their run to the final in 2022 when they lost to Eintracht Frankfurt on penalties.

This shows the scale of change at Ibrox in just a few years. However, the club seems to have muscle memory when it comes to the Europa League. Having already faced four of the top seven, and only being surpassed by Lyon so far, and with no teams dropping down from the Champions League this year, they will expect to go deep in the competition again. Furthermore, they can now add their initially unregistered players to their squad, such as Danilo and Ianis Hagi, and await the return of some injured players.

McCausland was asked after the game if he thought they could go all the way. “Of course, 100%,” was his reply. Whether they can or not, Rangers fans can brace themselves for another Europa League adventure in the spring.