Rangers have been drawn against old foes Bayer Leverkusen in the last 16 of the Europa League after seeing off Braga 4-2 on aggregate.
🆕@EuropaLeague Last 16 Draw
🇩🇪 #RangersFC will face @bayer04_en in the next round of the @EuropaLeague. pic.twitter.com/SQIo3UPZ7P
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) February 28, 2020
Leverkusen progressed thanks to a 3-1 away win against Rangers group rivals Porto which gave them a comfortable 5-2 scoreline over both legs.
In Dick Advocaat’s spell as Gers gaffer the UEFA Cup ties against Leverkusen in 1998 were seen as a coming of age for Barry Ferguson – particularly in Germany – as he dominated a 2-1 victory in the first leg before seeing his side progress to the next round after a 1-1 draw at Ibrox.
Fans of the Light Blues would take a similar set of scorelines once again as they face one of the toughest opponents left in the draw, currently sitting fifth and just six points off the top of the league in the Bundesliga, Leverkusen represent Steven Gerrard’s biggest hurdle yet in continental competition.
How far can Rangers go now in the Europa League?
Last 16
Quarter-final
Semi-finals
Final
They took to Twitter at the announcement Of the draw buoyed bY Wednesday’s success in Portugal, fearing no foe.
Only a few teams could have been harder but bring it on 👊🔴⚪🔵
— Steely (@OhItsSteely) February 28, 2020
Been there done that ✅ pic.twitter.com/1jJVdGalom
— bluebellsareblue🇬🇧 (@bluebellsarebl1) February 28, 2020
Hard tie, but so was braga, bring it on as nothing to lose
— barry foye (@bazfoye) February 28, 2020
Probably the team that no one really wanted to face. They put out porto and rangers managed to get good results against them. Leven have lost to lotiv moscow in CL so Seems they might slip against teams who are lower ranked. Anyway if we manage this we should go far.
— Alb_fts (@AlbFts) February 28, 2020
All would be quite difficult at this stage but feeling good about chances of progression here 🙂
— jamie mccrindle (@theshin79) February 28, 2020
Fear no foe🔴⚪️🔵
— –Atmosphere- (@Alex_JiangSY) February 28, 2020
Rangers will face an up hill task if they are to see off Leverkusen over two legs and will be the most difficult opposition that Gerrard’s team has faced so far, but after results against Porto, Feyenoord, Villareal and Braga over the past two seasons, few of a blue persuasion will be writing them off just yet.