Rangers stunning Europa League record since 2017/18 in full

March 5, 2024 Stanley Rangers 0

Since Rangers returned to European competition in 2017, the club and the Europa League have been a match made in heaven.

For a dejected fan base, the Glasgow giants’ relegation to the Scottish lower leagues ended a seven-year drought of no continental away visits.

However, Rangers embarked on an emotional rollercoaster in the Europa League, ranging from the lows of Progres Niederkorn to the highs of making it to the UEFA tournament final, following their third-place finish in the Scottish Premiership 2016–17.

Since the start of the Pedro Caixinha era, Rangers have participated in 70 Europa League games, including qualifications and play-offs, and they have won an amazing 35 of those matches, according to Fitbastats.

Over the last seven years, there have been just 14 games lost and 21 draws, for an amazing losing rate of just 20%.

The complete Rangers Europa League record is shown below, courtesy of Michael Beale, Philippe Clement, Steven Gerrard, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, and Caixinha.

2017/18 – 1st Qualifying Round

Rangers’ Europa League campaign takes a drastic turn for the better after this awful start. Rangers were expected to have no trouble winning both of their legs against Progres Niederkorn, the Luxembourg minnows.

Kenny Miller’s strike helped the Light Blues win the first leg 1-0, but the second game ended in utter tragedy. At the first few hurdles, Progres eliminated the 1972 European Cup Winners’ Cup champions from Europe with a remarkable 2-1 aggregate victory.

After the loss, manager Pedro Caixinha famously found himself fighting with Rangers supporters in a bush near the Stade Josy Barthel, and it goes without saying that his reputation at Ibrox never really recovered.

Results

  • Rangers 1-0 Progres Niederkorn (1st Qualifying Round, 1st Leg)
  • Progres Niederkorn 2-0 Rangers (1st Qualifying Round, 2nd Leg)

Overall record: W1 L1

2018/19 – Group Stage

How different from the previous season. Rangers get a second chance to qualify for the Europa League after finishing third in the 2017–18 Scottish Premiership.

Fortunately, victories over NK Osijek, Maribor, and FK Shkupi guaranteed the Light Blues a spot in the play-off round against FC Ufa.

Then, for the first time since 2010, Steven Gerrard would lead Rangers into the Europa League group stage, where they would ultimately place third behind Rapid Vienna and Villarreal.

With a thrilling victory over the Austrians at Ibrox and a draw against the Spaniards, the campaign got off to an incredible start. However, Rangers’ withdrawal from the tournament was marked by two draws and two losses.

Results

  • Rangers 2-0 FK Shkupi (1st Qualifying Round, 1st Leg)
  • FK Shkupi 0-0 Rangers (1st Qualifying Round, 2nd Leg)
  • NK Osijek 0-1 Rangers (2nd Qualifying Round, 1st Leg)
  • Rangers 0-0 NK Osijek (2nd Qualifying Round, 2nd Leg)
  • Rangers 3-1 Maribor (3rd Qualifying Round, 1st Leg)
  • Maribor 0-0 Rangers (3rd Qualifying Round, 2nd Leg)
  • Rangers 1-0 FC Ufa (Play-Off Round, 1st Leg)
  • FC Ufa 1-1 Rangers (Play-Off Round, 2nd Leg)
  • Villarreal 2-2 Rangers (Group G, Matchday 1)
  • Rangers 3-1 Rapid Vienna (Group G, Matchday 2)
  • Rangers 0-0 Spartak Moscow (Group G, Matchday 3)
  • Spartak Moscow 4-3 Rangers (Group G, Matchday 4)
  • Rangers 0-0 Villarreal (Group G, Matchday 5)
  • Rapid Vienna 1-0 Rangers (Group G, Matchday 6)

Overall record: W5 D7 L2

2019/20 – Last 16

The following season, Rangers improved even further as they defeated Bayer Leverkusen to advance to the round of sixteen. Once more, Gerrard’s men advanced to the group stage by beginning from the bottom.

They defeated the Luxembourg team to exact revenge for their terrible 2017 aggregate loss to Progres Niederkorn, and they also triumphed admirably over FC Midtjylland and Legia Warsaw.

Rangers, Porto, Feyenoord, and Young Boys formed a formidable group, but nine points from six games—two of which were against Porto—would be sufficient to advance to the round of 32.

Rangers’ first leg against Braga ended in a spectacular 82nd-minute goal from Ianis Hagi at Ibrox, and an incredible 1-0 victory in Portugal sealed the deal to send the team into the afterlife.

The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak caused the tie to be interrupted, but Bayer Leverkusen proved to be too much for the Gers, winning 4-1 overall.

Results

  • St Joseph’s 0-4 Rangers (1st Qualifying Round, 1st Leg)
  • Rangers 6-0 St Joseph’s (1st Qualifying Round, 2nd Leg)
  • Rangers 2-0 Progres Niederkorn (2nd Qualifying Round, 1st Leg)
  • Progres Niederkorn 0-0 Rangers (2nd Qualifying Round, 2nd Leg)
  • FC Mitdtjylland 2-4 Rangers (3rd Qualifying Round, 1st Leg)
  • Rangers 3-1 FC Mitdtjylland (3rd Qualifying Round, 2nd Leg)
  • Legia Warsaw 0-0 Rangers (Play-Off Round, 1st Leg)
  • Rangers 1-0 Legia Warsaw (Play-Off Round, 2nd Leg)
  • Rangers 1-0 Feyenoord (Group G, Matchday 1)
  • Young Boys 2-1 Rangers (Group G, Matchday 2)
  • Porto 1-1 Rangers (Group G, Matchday 3)
  • Rangers 2-0 Porto (Group G, Matchday 4)
  • Feyenoord 2-2 Rangers (Group G, Matchday 5)
  • Rangers 1-1 Young Boys (Group G, Matchday 6)
  • Rangers 3-2 Braga (Last 32, 1st Leg)
  • Braga 0-1 Rangers (Last 32, 2nd Leg)
  • Rangers 1-3 Bayer Leverkusen (Last 16, 1st Leg)
  • Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 Rangers (Last 16, 2nd Leg)

Overall record: W10 D5 L3

2020/21 – Last 16

Scotland’s higher FIFA coefficient and the elimination of two legs from the qualifying and play-off stages due to COVID-19 gave Rangers an easier path to the group stage.

Rangers advanced to the group stage by defeating Willem II, Galatasaray, and Lincoln Red Imps—two of which were away from home. In order to advance, Gerrard’s team had an amazing campaign, going undefeated against Standard Liege, Benfica, and Lech Poznan.

Before scoring nine more goals over the course of two legs in the round of 32 against Royal Antwerp, Rangers had already scored thirteen. The Glasgow giants defeated Slavia Prague 9–5 on aggregate, but they were unable to overcome them in the round of 16.

Results

  • Lincoln Red Imps 0-5 Rangers (2nd Qualifying Round)
  • Willem II 0-4 Rangers (3rd Qualifying Round)
  • Rangers 2-1 Galatasaray (Play-Off Round)
  • Standard Liege 0-2 Rangers (Group D, Matchday 1)
  • Rangers 1-0 Lech Poznan (Group D, Matchday 2)
  • Benfica 3-3 Rangers (Group D, Matchday 3)
  • Rangers 2-2 Benfica (Group D, Matchday 4)
  • Rangers 3-2 Standard Liege (Group D, Matchday 5)
  • Lech Poznan 0-2 Rangers (Group D, Matchday 6)
  • Royal Antwerp 3-4 Rangers (Last 32, 1st Leg)
  • Rangers 5-2 Royal Antwerp (Last 32, 2nd Leg)
  • Slavia Prague 1-1 Rangers (Last 16, 1st Leg)
  • Rangers 0-2 Slavia Prague (Last 16, 2nd Leg)

Overall record: W9 D3 L1

2021/22 – Final

A few years ago, Rangers’ most memorable season in Europe since 2007–08 was when Giovanni van Bronckhorst guided them to the Seville final.

Rangers’ success throughout the competition was largely attributed to the Ibrox factor, even though the team dropped five games from the group stage to the semifinals.

After losing their first two group stage matches, Rangers managed to advance to the knockout stage and face Borussia Dortmund thanks to their next two victories and two draws.

Red Star Belgrade lost 4-2 in the round of 16 after securing an incredible 6-4 aggregate victory. Then, owing to outstanding performances at Ibrox, Rangers would overcome deficits in the opening legs against Braga and RB Leipzig to win both.

The Rangers faced Eintracht Frankfurt in the championship game, when Joe Aribo gave the team the lead. This led to wild celebrations inside the Estadio La Cartuja.

However, Frankfurt pulled away from them and went on to win in one of the most excruciating moments in Rangers history thanks to penalties.

Results

  • Rangers 1-0 Alashkert (Play-Off Round, 1st Leg)
  • Alashkert 0-0 Rangers (Play-Off Round, 2nd Leg)
  • Rangers 0-2 Lyon (Group A, Matchday 1)
  • Sparta Prague 1-0 Rangers (Group A, Matchday 2)
  • Rangers 2-0 Brondby (Group A, Matchday 3)
  • Brondby 1-1 Rangers (Group A, Matchday 4)
  • Rangers 2-0 Sparta Prague (Group A, Matchday 5)
  • Lyon 1-1 Rangers (Group A, Matchday 6)
  • Borussia Dortmund 2-4 Rangers (Knockout Round Play-Off, 1st Leg)
  • Rangers 2-2 Borussia Dortmund (Knockout Round Play-Off, 2nd Leg)
  • Rangers 3-0 Red Star Belgrade (Last 16, 1st Leg)
  • Red Star Belgrade 2-1 Rangers (Last 16, 2nd Leg)
  • Braga 1-0 Rangers (Quarter-Final, 1st Leg)
  • Rangers 3-1 Braga (Quarter-Final, 2nd Leg)
  • RB Leipzig 1-0 Rangers (Semi-Final, 1st Leg)
  • Rangers 3-1 RB Leipzig (Semi-Final, 1st Leg)
  • Eintracht Frankfurt 1-1 Rangers (Final, lost 5-4 on penalties AET)

Overall record: W7 D4 L6

2023/24

Rangers returned to the Champions League for the 2023–24 season following a terrible 2022–23 campaign that ended with them missing out in the group stage.

After losing to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League play-off round, they went directly into the group stage and were paired with Real Betis, Sparta Prague, and Aris Limassol.

Despite a few setbacks and a manager change, Rangers emerged from the group with a thrilling 3-2 victory in Seville on the last matchday. It was an extremely winnable group.

Giants from Portugal, Benfica, will now play Rangers in the round of 16. After just two competitive games between the sides, neither side has been the other.

Outcomes

  • Rangers 1-0 Real Betis (Group C, Matchday 1)
  • Aris Limassol 2-1 Rangers (Group C, Matchday 2)
  • Sparta Prague 0-0 Rangers (Group C, Matchday 3)
  • Rangers 2-1 Sparta Prague (Group C, Matchday 4)
  • Aris Limassol 1-1 Rangers (Group C, Matchday 5)
  • Real Betis 2-3 Rangers (Group C, Matchday 6)

Read more news at https://sportupdates.co.uk

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