THE SIX LESSONS RANGERS MUST TAKE INTO CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SHOWDOWN WITH £40M ON THE LINE

The Rangers transfer cogs are finally starting to grind into gear with Joe Rothwell and Manny Fernandez the latest new faces to join Russell Martin’s squad this week.

But with less than three weeks to go before the Light Blues’ opening Champions League qualifier with Panathinaikos, the race is on to get further recruits signed and brought up to speed with the new gaffer’s radical possession-based playing style.

Defeat to the Greeks in the multi-million clash would come at a heavy cost to the club’s new American owners.

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But given Rangers’ patchy European record at this stage of the season, Andrew Cavenagh and Paraag Marathe will have no excuse for allowing the team to come in ill prepared for their first test of the new campaign.

Here Record Sport takes a look back at the six occasions when Gers’ failed to heed the Champions League danger signs as they fell flat at the first hurdle.

1993 vs Levski Sofia - 4-4 draw on aggregate (Rangers lose on away goals)

Walter Smith’s Treble-winners had every right to think they’d make light work of the Bulgarians having come so close to reaching the final the previous year. Be it over-confidence or downright complacency, they allowed Levski back into a tie they thought they had wrapped up inside an hour.

Twice they went two goals up at home thanks to Dave MacPherson’s strike and a Mark Hateley double, but when the visitors snatched two goals at Ibrox it left Gers short on wiggle room for the return leg in the Bulgarian capital. And disaster duly struck when former soldier Nikolay Todorov bombed Smith’s side out of the competition with a 91st-minute winner.

1994 vs AEK Athens - 3-0 defeat on aggregate

Rangers found themselves feeling the heat in the Greek capital - and not because of the 30 degree-plus conditions.

The Ibrox side had pushed the boat out in the summer to sign European Cup winner Basile Boli and Great Dane Brian Laudrup. But with Boli missing the first leg against AEK, Smith opted to go with a new-look three-man backline.

The rejigged defence, however, was no match for a red-hot Athens outfit who could have scored five were it not for heroic keeper Andy Goram.

A double from 33-year-old AEK debutant Dimitris Saravakos left the Light Blues’ hopes hanging by a thread but there was another Greek tragedy back in Glasgow as Toni Savevski’s winner sealed Rangers’ fate.

2008 vs Kaunas - 2-1 defeat on aggregate

Again Rangers came into this early season qualifier dreaming big having stormed all the way to the UEFA Cup final the season before. Only 77 days separated the defeat to Zenit St Petersburg and their first leg showdown with the Lithuanians.

But the Ibrox men put on a flat show in what was Kenny Miller’s first game back at the club after his controversial Celtic stint. The second leg looked to be heading in a better direction with Kevin Thomson’s opener but Nerijus Radzius’ stunning free-kick equaliser and late Linas Pilibaitis strike gave Kaunas a dramatic victory - a result that former Gers owner David Murray this week claimed with the spark that sent the Ibrox side hurtling towards financial oblivion.

2011 vs Malmo - 2-1 defeat on aggregate

Craig Whyte had taken over the running of the club and had named Ally McCoist as manager by the time they lined up to face Swedes Malmo in this opening qualifier.

The Ibrox faithful didn’t quite yet know the scale of the horrifying cash woes that were mounting behind the scenes but, who knows, perhaps they might have averted their painful collapse had the team secured the £20million lifeline on offer in the group stages.

That prospect, however, was snatched away when Daniel Larsson put Malmo ahead at Ibrox, with a Nikica Jelavic’s second-leg goal good enough only for a draw in Sweden.

2022 vs Malmo - 4-2 defeat on aggregate

Eleven years on and Steven Gerrard’s rejuvenated Rangers were back at the Eleda Stadion looking for revenge. Having romped to the club’s first league title in a decade with their unbeaten Premiership triumph, the Light Blues were hoping to bank the £40million Champions League bonanza they believed could cement their status as kings of Scotland. Instead, a 2-1 defeat away was followed by a repeat scoreline at Ibrox as future Gers striker Antonio Colak’s double gave the 10-man Swedes victory.

Gers recovered from that loss to rampage all the way to the Europa League final in Seville - but Celtic were allowed to reclaim their financial edge and reclaim the Premiership throne after a 12-month exile.

2024 vs Dynamo Kyiv - 3-1 defeat on aggregate

The alarm bells were clattering off the wall before Philippe Clement’s side had even kicked off against the Ukrainians. The Belgian boss had already been told that he’d need to offload his big earners before he could add to his squad, while a construction cock-up on Copland Road Stand renovation works meant Gers were forced to stage the second leg at Hampden.

Cyriel Dessers’ late equaliser in Lublin ensured the tie was level as Rangers ran out at the National Stadium. But without the electrifying Ibrox atmosphere, Clement’s side saw their Champions League lights knocked out as Kyiv took full advantage of Brazilian defender Jefte’s controversial sending off to net twice late on through Oleksandr Pikhalyonok and Nazar Voloshyn.

2025-07-04T07:09:36Z