Rangers star Borna Barisic has claimed that Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund are not at the same level as the club’s Champions League opponents.
The Gers were humiliated in Champions League Group A by not picking up a point with the club’s goal difference of -20 means that technically this group put in the worst performance in the competition’s history.
Napoli, Liverpool and Ajax proved difficult competition and now Rangers have been cast out of the tournament after a 12-year absence and the club’s fans have been left scratching their head.
Rangers managed to reach the Europa League Final last season by overcoming Bundesliga Champions League-levels clubs like Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig.
Rangers star Borna Barisic in Dortmund Champions League claim
Speaking after the club’s latest Champions League defeat – a 3-1 loss to Dutch Champions Ajax – Barisic refuted comparisons to the victory over Borussia Dortmund in particular.
Never mind the gap between Rangers and their Champions League opponents, Borna Barisic believes there’s a gap between Liverpool, Napoli and Ajax and Bundesliga giants Dortmund.
“It didn’t happen because this is Champions League, it’s another level” said Barisic.
“No-one expected that we would do well in the Europa League and we went into the Champions League and tried to play our part … I mean, there are clubs with squads of £400, 500, 600million.
“Our group was very tough, but we need to respect the opponent and talk about that also.
“With all due respect, I don’t think Dortmund are better than Napoli, or Liverpool, or even Ajax.
“That’s my opinion at this moment. Sometimes results show you. They are not the same level as last season, you can see that.
“We also had a very hard group and we have not been at that level. You can see our results, that’s the reality.are just better than us.
“We can now analyse all night what’s happened, but you know, we also have a lot of injured players. It’s not easy to play on three fronts with the squad.
“We tried, we learned, we are not happy because of this. This is the Champions League, not the Europa League. And also, if we are talking about last year, the final was a big achievement if you look at which squads we play.”
Meanwhile, Rangers’ competition for Borna Barisic is amongst 11 players out of the side.