Rangers' big Champions League Tuesday has started with a bang. Before Giovanni van Bronckhorst 's side have even kicked a ball in the third qualifying round against Union Saint-Gilloise, their potential playoff round opponents have been revealed.
The Ibrox side faced the possibility of drawing the winners of Dynamo Kyiv vs Sturm Graz or PSV Eindhoven vs Monaco. Rangers never seem to do things the easy way on the Continent, so naturally, it was always going to be the latter pairing, wasn't it? Their path to the group stage is now set and there's no denying it's a difficult one. Should van Bronckhorst's team see off Union SG, they'll be off to either France or the Netherlands to face one of two very handy sides. Still, at least it wasn’t Benfica.
A home tie in the first leg has its advantages but, mind you, Rangers did seem to thrive on getting teams "back to Ibrox" in last season's run to the Europa League Final. Rangers may be billed as underdogs if they get past the Belgians but those exploits on the road Seville means they'll hold no fear, no matter who comes next.
