Take each game as it comes. It’s one of the oldest cliches in the book. But while managers and players might stick to it – supporters can be forgiven for ignoring it. And that is certainly true when it comes to the Champions League.
Fans have the small matter of trying to beat the rush when it comes to booking up budget flights and hotels when travelling abroad to see their team. How many Rangers fans saved cash by gambling on their team reaching the Europa League Final in Seville and booking before the semi final second leg against RB Leipzig. Or, in some cases, even earlier.
So wily punters often don’t listen to the well-worn one-game-at-a-time cliche. And when it comes to the format of the Champions League draw then there is every reason to look ahead. Rangers will be in the hat for the play off round of Europe’s premier tournament without actually knowing if they will still be in the competition at that stage.
The draw in Nyon actually takes place on the morning of the first leg of their third round qualifier against Union Saint-Gilloise on August 2. So by next Tuesday morning Rangers will know exactly what they have to do to reach the group sage and join the cream of the continent for the first time in more than a decade.
And their potential path became that little bit clearer on Tuesday night as their list of possible opponents dropped from five. That was when Dynamo Kiev eliminated Fenerbahce in a match marred by sickening chants for Vladimir Putin from the Turkish fans.
That came after Vitaliy Buyalskyi had given the Ukrainians the lead in the Şukru Saracoglu Stadium in Istanbul and while Fenerbahce levelled the tie a the death in normal time, it was Dynamo Kiev who progressed with an extra-time winner.
So Rangers now know that they will play the winners of two ties to be played on the same weeks they battle it out with Union Saint-Gilloise and here Record Sport looks at the fixtures of which Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men will face one of the winners.
Dynamo Kiev v Strum Graz
A match with the Ukrainians would evoke memories of one of the greatest ever European nights in Rangers’ history. Prior to the Europa League semi-final win over RB Leipzig, the European Cup win over Dynamo Kiev in 1987 was regarded as the most electric atmosphere the stadium had witnessed when the Light Blues won 2-0 thanks to goals from Ally McCoist and Mark Falco to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first game. That Dynamo Kiev side, under the legendary Valeriy Lobanovskyi, was regarded as one of the best in Europe. They are not the same force these days and are playing against the backdrop of the Russia invasion which forced them to play their home tie against Fenerbahce in Poland - their first competitive match of 2022. That would be an obvious advantage for Rangers, should they be drawn together, but as they showed in Istanbul - and the national team showed at Hampden in their World Cup play off semi final – they have summoned tremendous spirit out of the tragedy in their homeland.
A match against Sturm Graz would also bring back happy memories for Rangers after a 5-0 Champions League demolition 22 years ago in a game current boss van Bronckhorst will remember well. They kicked off their Austrian Bundesliga campaign last weekend with a 1-1 draw away to Wolfsberger and, on paper at least, would probably be the most favourable draw of all four potential sides for Rangers.
Monaco v PSV
While Rangers would fancy their chances against any of their potential rivals after last season’s run to the Europa League Final, the winners of this tie would still be the one to avoid. Monaco’s Stade Louis II was a happy hunting ground for van Bronckhorst as a Gers player after his winner in the Champions League group stage clash more than 20 years ago. But Philippe Clement’s Ligue 1 outfit would be a tough hurdle to overcome after splashing almost £30 million on two players alone this summer in Breel Embolo and Takumi Minamino.
The Dutch side are starting a new era under Ruud van Nistelrooy so are a bit of an unknown quantity. He was part of a PSV side demolished 4-1 at Ibrox in the Champions League with Dick Advocaat’s side also winning 1-0 in Eindhoven in that group stage campaign. Again, Van Bronckhorst was part of that team and might fancy a return to Holland.
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