Rangers keep foot in door of Champions League last 16

Published on Thursday 5 November 2009 21:59

ALMOST in spite of themselves, Rangers remain in contention to reach the last 16 of the Champions League.

As Walter Smith and his players made their way home from Bucharest yesterday, even they might have been surprised at just how much the Group G door is still ajar.

Any team who have taken just two points from their opening four matches, a sequence which has seen them twice crushed 4-1 on their own turf, would generally be already resigned to failure.

So it is perhaps an illustration of the relative mediocrity of the section Rangers find themselves in that there is still an equation which could see them progress to the knockout phase of the tournament by achieving a final points tally of just six.

If Rangers can defeat VfB Stuttgart at Ibrox on 24 November and then secure a draw away to Sevilla two weeks later, they would snatch second place in the group if Unirea Urziceni lose both of their final fixtures – at home to Sevilla and against Stuttgart in Germany.

It is not the most fanciful scenario ever painted, although it does demand of Rangers a radical improvement in their recent European home form in order to beat Stuttgart. In the event that Unirea take one point from their last two games, Rangers could take the runners-up spot only by collecting maximum points from theirs.

The Scottish champions must now hope that Sevilla are sufficiently motivated to pursue victory in Bucharest in three weeks' time, rather than settle for the solitary point they still need to confirm their position as group winners. The Spanish top seeds, who have clearly illustrated their status as thoroughbreds among workhorses in the section, will certainly wish to wrap up first place and the nominally favourable draw it should give them in the last 16.

For Smith, speculation over what Rangers will need when they travel to Spain next month can wait. His sole concern will be hardening the resolve of his team to win a European game at Ibrox for the first time since they overcame Werder Bremen 2-0 during their Uefa Cup run two seasons ago.

Since then, they have gone five matches without a victory. Anything less against Stuttgart would leave Rangers as firm favourites to finish Group G where they are now, at the bottom and out of Europe completely. Taking three points against Markus Babbel's team would at least ensure Rangers of a better head-to-head record in the race for third place and qualification for the last 32 of the Europa League.

"Who knows what we are going to need now," mused Smith, "but we have to win the next game against Stuttgart.

"We played well to draw 1-1 with them in Germany at the start of the group, but although Stuttgart have struggled a wee bit this season domestically, they are a good team.

"They showed that on Wednesday night by going to Spain and getting a draw against Sevilla. So we will need to turn in a really top performance to beat them at Ibrox. If we take the points, we know there is still an opportunity to qualify."

After the initial disappointment of conceding an 88th-minute equaliser to Unirea had subsided for Smith, he could take some comfort from his team's return to a semblance of the resilient form which had made them such a difficult team to beat for so long in Europe since his return as Rangers manager.

The painful memories of those 4-1 Ibrox beatings by Sevilla and Unirea remain, but Rangers were far more solid and, at times, cohesive in the 1-1 draw with Dan Petrescu's Romanian champions.

"The most frustrating thing about the group so far is that we have managed two decent away performances, drawing in Stuttgart and Bucharest, but have picked up nothing at Ibrox," added Smith.

"I didn't mind the Sevilla defeat so much, because we played really well for an hour that night, but lost several goals on the break. Sevilla can do that to you. But the defeat at home to Unirea was nothing like the standards we have tried to set. It was easily the worst in more than 20 European games since I came back to the club.

"We atoned for that in Romania, but the disappointment is that the draw makes it that much harder for us to stay in Europe, either in the Champions League or Europa League."

On a night which again saw a minority of their supporters tarnish the club's image in Europe during violent clashes with stewards at half-time, the most positive aspect for Rangers was unquestionably the outstanding performance of 17-year-old defender Danny Wilson.

He has long been cited as the most promising product of the Murray Park youth academy and against Unirea he showed why. Wilson's was an almost faultless performance with his composed distribution and precise tackling.

Even his late booking was evidence of an old head on young shoulders as he denied Marius Bilasco a clear run on goal with the only foul he committed in the match.

"Experience can only be gained by playing games to make you a better player," agreed Smith. "I must say, for a young boy, Danny gave a very assured performance. He showed no nerves at all."