Rangers are the third-best passing team in Europe, ranking higher than PSG, Bayern Munich and rivals Celtic.
That’s according to new research done by the CIES Football Observatory in Switzerland, who compared the passing stats of teams across the top 35 leagues.
The findings show that Rangers are beaten only by Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City and last season’s Champions League semi-finalists Ajax, who are 1st and 2nd respectively.
Not bad company to keep at all.
CIES have analysed the number of successful passes in the opposition’s third of the field for each team in their domestic season and referenced it against the number of passes they’ve allowed in their own.
Rangers have averaged 179 successful passes in the opposition third per Scottish Premiership game this season, whilst they only concede 59 on average.
The Ibrox side’s ratio of 3.03 is behind the Dutch (3.43) and English (3.55) champions but a decent bit higher than Ukrainian’s Shakhtar Donetsk (2.88).
Rivals Celtic are also in the top 10 but are considerably behind Rangers in the passing stakes, with our Old Firm foes sitting in 7th with a ratio of 2.50.
It is a testament to how well-coached Rangers are under Steven Gerrard and the high-press, aggressive in possession type game his side play.
Whilst it’s only an indicator of the club’s progress under the Liverpool legend and his backroom staff, it’s never a bad thing to be named amongst two of Europe’s footballing powerhouses.
Gerrard’s toughest test yet has been set for the 8th of December, with the Ibrox side facing rivals Celtic in the Betfred Cup Final.
