As Rangers warmed up for their Champions League qualifying clash with Servette by losing out to Kilmarnock, the Swiss side were narrowly escaping the same fate.
As the Rangers pressure mounts following the 1-0 Scottish Premiership defeat, Servette rescued a late point in Switzerland with a dramatic 96th minute equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Lausanne.
Servette had fallen behind to an Alban Ajdini penalty with about 20 minutes to play before German attacking midfielder Patrick Pflucke popped up with almost the final kick of the ball to equalise.
The result means Servette are still unbeaten after three games in the Swiss Super League this season, their previous 2-2 draw with FC Zurich following a 3-1 victory over FC Grasshoppers.
Servette are now sitting in fourth place in the Swiss top flight and head to Rangers on Wednesday on decent form and filled with optimism surrounding their Champions League hopes.
Rangers ready £4.5m Servette Champions League tie
Narrowly escaping defeat heading into their Champions League QR3 clash with Rangers at Ibrox this week, the rescued point perhaps stands as a testament to the same resilience that overcome Genk in the last round.
Rangers will have to be wary of the Swiss side’s qualities heading into the Champions League qualifying clash, Servette having beaten Genk on penalties.
Following a 1-1 draw in Switzerland, the two sides played out a 2-2 draw in Belgium and Rangers will be expecting a tough clash with Servette as they look to reach the Champions League playoff.
Qualification for that stage of European football’s elite competition is worth €5m (£4.3m) in its own right and that’s a substantial amount of money for a Rangers side going through a rebuild.
Following the defeat to Kilmarnock however, there isn’t exactly beaming optimism around Ibrox that Michael Beale’s squad of new signings and long-term disappointments can make the next round.
It’s over to the Rangers team to convince an expectant support who will be sharpening their knives further if things don’t go to plan against Servette in the Champions League this week.
