Rangers achieved something for the first time in their existence on Thursday night and Ben Davies admits he had no idea about it.
The Ibrox side have a long history of facing Spanish sides in European competition and heading into the Real Betis clash a couple of days ago, it gave fans cause for concern.
That’s because Rangers had never beaten a Spanish team in Spain stretching right back to 1962 when Gers first competed against Sevilla in the European Cup Winners’ Cup.
Rangers had beaten Spanish opposition just five times in 27 attempts, all of which were achieved amid home comforts in Glasgow.
However, Philippe Clement and his Rangers charges masterminded a thrilling victory at the Estadio Benito Villamarin to shock the continent with a 3-2 win and put an end to the misery the club have been accustomed to on Spanish soil.
There was sheer jubilation amongst fans and players alike as Rangers took three points in Group C of the Europa League to rise to the top of the pile and reach the last 16, as well as a healthy chunk of guaranteed prize money.
Ben Davies wasn’t aware of Rangers stat
But such was the focus on the match itself from a player perspective, defender Ben Davies – who started the Betis win on Thursday – didn’t fully realise the magnitude of Rangers’ victory from a historical context.
Speaking to the written press after the win, Davies said: “I wasn’t aware of that stat, I didn’t know Rangers hadn’t won in Spain. We knew at the start of the week it was a big week and we were able to make a bit of history on Thursday.”
Davies continued by praising the influence of Clement on the side but warned the squad against getting too ahead of themselves with the Viaplay Cup Final versus Aberdeen quickly around the corner.
He said: “The manager has got us together, he has got us playing well as a team. Everyone is attacking together, everyone is defending together. You saw how hard the forwards worked against Betis.
“The manager has galvanised us a bit, he’s got everyone on the same page. But this feels like a big leap forward. It feels like a big result for us. But we have a massive game on Sunday, we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves.
“We know what Sunday means and straight after the game on Thursday we were looking towards it. It’s a chance for silverware.
“As a club we’ve been through the cycle of Sunday, Thursday so we’re quite used to it now. We’re looking forward to the final because we know what it means.”
