The second half of the 2022/23 season is a relatively low-key affair for The Gers. Throughout the month of February, the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Europa Conference League all get back underway, but we won’t be seeing Rangers on the continental stage between now and May.
We wouldn’t blame most Gers fans for feeling a little empty and underwhelmed at that prospect. In each of the last three seasons, Rangers have been competing in the latter stages of the Europa League, but this season saw the Ibrox club return to the Champions’ League group stages after 12 long years away.
However, being drawn into a difficult group alongside Liverpool, Napoli, and Ajax was too much to contend with, seeing Gio van Bronckhorst’s side finish bottom and eliminated from Europe altogether.
This season, popular betting site Bovada has earmarked the likes of Arsenal, Barcelona, and Manchester United as the favourites for Europa League glory. But it was less than 12 months ago when Rangers’ name was up in lights as they reached the final of the famed competition for the first time in 14 years. As there isn’t any European football to look forward to throughout the second half of the campaign, we thought it would be the perfect time to look back on that magical run we embarked on last term.
Progressing From A Challenging Group
Last season’s Europa League campaign couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start for the Gers. In their opening game in the competition, they were handily beaten 2-0 by Lyon at Ibrox, with Cameroonian forward Karl Toko Ekambi scoring a wondergoal in the first half to set the visitors on their way. Another disappointment would follow in the second group game as the Scottish Champions were stunned by Sparta Prague, losing 1-0 in the Czech capital.
Rangers finally got their campaign up and running on matchday three, with a 2-0 victory at home to Brøndby. They would then pick up a point in Denmark the following fortnight to leave them in with a chance of qualification. An Alvaro Morelos double against Sparta Prague at Ibrox left the Gers in pole position for qualification, all they had to do was pick up a point away at Lyon to secure passage to the second round.
And that is exactly what they did. Scott Wright gave the visitors the lead on the stroke of halftime, however, the hosts hit back five minutes after the break via a Calvin Bassey own goal. But 1-1 was how the tie remained, and the pair progressed to the second round, with Rangers finishing as the runners-up.
The Fairytale Begins
It wasn’t until the playoff knockout round however that the fairytale truly began. Rangers were given a hugely difficult tie against one of the favourites for the tournament, Borussia Dortmund. The Scottish champions were huge underdogs as they travelled to the 83,000-capacity Signal Iduna Park, the home of the German giants.
But the visitors stunned everybody as they raced into a 3-0 lead courtesy of three goals in 11 minutes either side of halftime from James Tavernier, Alfredo Morelos and John Lundstram. The hosts pulled one back through English wonderkid Jude Bellingham, however, just three minutes later, the three-goal advantage was restored thanks to an own goal from Dan-Axel Zagadou. Raphaël Guerreiro would score a consolation for the hosts and Rangers headed back to Glasgow with a two-goal lead to protect.
In the return leg, Dortmund would give it everything they had, however, the Blue Wall held firm. On the night, it finished 2-2, giving Rangers a 6-4 aggregate victory and perhaps the club’s finest-ever performance on the international stage. But that was just the start of what was to come.
Performing Beyond Anyone’s Expectations
Many thought that that may have been as good as it got, however, Rangers avoided a number of tournament favourites in the last sixteen draw, eventually being paired up with Serbian Champions Red Star Belgrade. The Gers handily beat the visitors 3-0 at Ibrox, before picking up a 1-1 draw in Serbia and securing safe passage to the quarter-finals.
In the quarter-finals, Rangers would once again receive a favourable draw, and avoided the likes of Barcelona and Atalanta, eventually being drawn against Portuguese side SC Braga. The Portuguese outfit picked up a 1-0 victory in Portugal, however, Rangers won 2-1 at Ibrox taking the tie to extra time. By this point, the visitors had had a man sent off, and the hosts made their dominance tell when Kemar Roofe bagged a 101st-minute winner and fired them to the last four.
In the last eight, Barcelona were eliminated by Eintracht Frankfurt, and the competition was wide open. They would face and beat West Ham United in the semi-finals, while Rangers were tasked with beating fellow German side RB Leipzig. The Germans picked up a 1-0 victory in Leipzig, however, goals from James Tavernier, Glen Kamara and a late John Lundstram winner ensured that it was Rangers who progressed to the final against all odds.
As we all painfully remember, that was as good as it would get. Despite Rangers being the better team in the final, they couldn’t find a winner against Eintracht in the Seville showpiece. And in the end, they paid the price, heartbreakingly losing out via a penalty shootout, with Aaron Ramsey missing the decisive spot kick.
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