Rangers went into tonight’s Europa League fixture with Real Betis knowing exactly what they needed to do and also that losing wasn’t the end of the world, the good thing is, we didn’t.
Securing progress in Europe after Christmas isn’t for everyone……but, regardless of competition, the main thing is that fans will get the chance to pack Ibrox once again.
The additional bonus for Philippe Clement is that any potential additions to his Rangers squad know that continental football is on offer after the final Europa League group stage tie with Real Betis – where do we go from here though?
Rangers Europa League journey and where we go next
These were the permutations before a ball was kicked tonight:
Rangers would finish in the top two if they beat Real Betis or Sparta Prague did not beat Aris Limassol.
Rangers would reach the round of 16 in the Europa League if they won.
If they didn’t win, the Europa League knockout round play-off v a Champions League third place team was the result, again, if Sparta Prague didn’t win too.
If Sparta Prague drew and Rangers lost, Philippe Clement’s side stay second on the head-to-head record.
Third place and dropping into the Europa Conference League was guaranteed, at least.
There are some heavy hitters in the Europa League now, teams like Liverpool and PSV Eindhoven sit top of their domestic leagues with AC Milan, Sporting Lisbon and Porto also flying high domestically.
The Europa Conference League has two sides who have already faced Scottish opposition, Aston Villa, who demolished Hibernian in qualifying and Eintracht Frankfurt – remember them?
The brief was simple when Clement took over with Rangers having just lost to Aris Limassol in the Europa League, secure European football after Christmas and has done more than that, he has topped the group.
The two dropped points at Ibrox to Limassol will have irked the Gers boss more than he would like to admit though.
Rangers will now return to action in Europe for the Europa League with the round of 16 taking place over March 7th and March 14th and will be seeded, plenty of time to make sure your passport is still in date.
