Getting out of the group after losing first 2 games

How have we got away with it when they are the teams in the group?
Because if we'd lost the opening 2 in a decent group, there would be no coming back.

Losing to Prague over there and drawing with Brondby are terrible results against two terrible teams.
 
As an off shoot to this, I remember a while back Newcastle United losing their first three champions league group stage matches and still managing to qualify.

I'm sure getting out the group after losing the first two games has happened a few times now, but after losing three must be very rare.
 
Although extremely unlikely, it's also possible we could face Malmo again in the upcoming qualifying round. If Zenit lose to Chelsea and Malmo pull off a shock win against Juventus in their own backyard.
As I pointed out, unlikely but anything can happen. I think a Gio tuned team, firing on all cylinders would wipe the floor with Malmo. Revenge would be sweet on the way to the last 16
Zenit have the better head to head with Malmo

Confirmed in knockout play-offs (group runners-up & UEFA Champions League third-place finishers): Rangers, Real Betis, Borussia Dortmund*, Sheriff*, Zenit*

*Transfer from UEFA Champions League

 
Think this is Gerard’s legacy as well as 55. The job he did in respect of Europe has been pretty amazing. We have undoubtedly dipped this year but he has got us respected throughout Europe with the consistency of performance Over the last few years.

Gio takes in the mantle now and can hopefully build on that achievement
We get little recognition from our blinkered media for our outstanding, and consistent, Europa League performances and the boost they have provided to the Scottish coefficient.
 
But on the flip side the years we did compete we really could have won the thing. The year Feyenoord knocked us out and Dortmund knocked us out were both years we could have went on and won the thing. That’s before we talk 2008 which was simply Smith getting guys running through walls for him.

As good and consistent as we are now I don’t think we are a serious contender. Maybe last year we were an outside shot because of our group stage form.

Hmm, maybe... but if you're getting knocked out by the likes of Feyenoord, are we really serious contenders?

I think beating Braga is on a par with the likes of that Feyenoord team.

Losing to Dortmund (and it was a complete blowing of the chance) was akin to us going out to Leverkusen for levels of opposition.

Certainly under Advocaat we were closer to stablitity at times but he still had some poor results.
 
Hmm, maybe... but if you're getting knocked out by the likes of Feyenoord, are we really serious contenders?

I think beating Braga is on a par with the likes of that Feyenoord team.

Losing to Dortmund (and it was a complete blowing of the chance) was akin to us going out to Leverkusen for levels of opposition.

Certainly under Advocaat we were closer to stablitity at times but he still had some poor results.
Feyenoord won the thing that year.
 
Hmm, maybe... but if you're getting knocked out by the likes of Feyenoord, are we really serious contenders?

I think beating Braga is on a par with the likes of that Feyenoord team.

Losing to Dortmund (and it was a complete blowing of the chance) was akin to us going out to Leverkusen for levels of opposition.

Certainly under Advocaat we were closer to stablitity at times but he still had some poor results.

The Dortmund team of 99 who put us out were awful. They were nowhere near the level of the Leverkusen side from last year. Ok they won the CL in 97 but the rot had set in by the time we played them.
 
4 straight group stage appearances while qualifying against CL level teams galatasaray and midtylland , beating other quality teams like legia .

3 straight knock out stage appearances in the EL

We have definitely improved immensely on that stage and we should’ve beat slavia last season but didn’t do ourselves justice

There were extenuating circumstances with Slavia to be fair.

From memory Tav & Jack out, and yet until
Roofe’s red card we were right in the tie.
 
Just checked, Inter was the Semi Final and they beat Dortmund 3-2 in the final.

Feyenoord were only in the UEFA Cup after dropping out of the Champions League. They finished third behind Sparta Prague in second!

Kohler made an arse of it when he got robbed edge of the box. Gave away a pen and got red carded.

Had £50 on Dortmund-1 and was raging at the prick:))
 
Feyenoord won the thing that year.

I know that but does whoever they put out in the previous round automatically become a contender too?

If we were serious contenders we wouldn't have blown it over the two ties at that stage of the competition.
 
4 straight group stage appearances while qualifying against CL level teams galatasaray and midtylland , beating other quality teams like legia .

3 straight knock out stage appearances in the EL

We have definitely improved immensely on that stage and we should’ve beat slavia last season but didn’t do ourselves justice


I reckon we would have beat Slavia if we hadnt got the league title so early.


Was definitely a drop off in performance when it was confirmed.
 
Hmm, maybe... but if you're getting knocked out by the likes of Feyenoord, are we really serious contenders?

I think beating Braga is on a par with the likes of that Feyenoord team.

Losing to Dortmund (and it was a complete blowing of the chance) was akin to us going out to Leverkusen for levels of opposition.

Certainly under Advocaat we were closer to stablitity at times but he still had some poor results.
“The likes of Feyenoord”?

What a bizarre comment. One of the big three in Dutch football; the UEFA Cup winners that year, and Rangers only lost to them very narrowly (an equaliser in Rotterdam would have sent Rangers through on away goals); a club that has won three European trophies, including the big one.

You would think, given the Van Bronckhorst connection, that every Rangers fan would have some respect for that great club.
 
“The likes of Feyenoord”?

What a bizarre comment. One of the big three in Dutch football; the UEFA Cup winners that year, and Rangers only lost to them very narrowly (an equaliser in Rotterdam would have sent Rangers through on away goals); a club that has won three European trophies, including the big one.

You would think, given the Van Bronckhorst connection, that every Rangers fan would have some respect for that great club.

Dunno if you've missed my point.

I'm treating Rangers just like them and I think plenty of my team.

We can't be considered contenders for tournaments when we didn't ever progress by the found if 16.

Feyenoord, like Rangers, aren't a super club where you're unlucky to draw them and be put out. They're a team who should be matched at that mid level oppenent and continually had an edge over us just like Fenerbache and Galatasaray and a host of others.



They're of good pedigree and as far as the 90s / 00s went, likely to knock Rangers out every time we faced them. That stops us being contenders. Saw it that year, saw it with Smith pretty much every year and saw it with Eck after Advocaat too.

I'll be spared the "unlucky tag" as it's not luck when it happens every time
 
In Group F it is looking probable that Red Star will finish 3rd with 10 points if Braga beat them at home and Midtjylland win away to Ludogorets.
That's what happens in groups where there is a whipping boy who the other 3 all beat.

Like Celtic's group, Ferencvaros are giving every other team 6 points then the others play the meaningful games.
 
I know that but does whoever they put out in the previous round automatically become a contender too?

If we were serious contenders we wouldn't have blown it over the two ties at that stage of the competition.
We were any one of 2 missed sitters and 2 wonder freekicks away from knocking out the winners.
That means you would probably have been a contender?

Especially as from memory we outplayed them, certainly at Ibrox, and from what I seen from the home end in Rotterdam too.
 
Hmm, maybe... but if you're getting knocked out by the likes of Feyenoord, are we really serious contenders?

I think beating Braga is on a par with the likes of that Feyenoord team.

Losing to Dortmund (and it was a complete blowing of the chance) was akin to us going out to Leverkusen for levels of opposition.

Certainly under Advocaat we were closer to stablitity at times but he still had some poor results.

Given feyenoord won it that year I would say yes we were contenders and should have knocked them out.
 
We were any one of 2 missed sitters and 2 wonder freekicks away from knocking out the winners.
That means you would probably have been a contender?

Especially as from memory we outplayed them, certainly at Ibrox, and from what I seen from the home end in Rotterdam too.

I felt we struggled at Ibrox against them TBH. Huffed and puffed.

Ran then ragged the first 30 minutes in Rotterdam, scored before conceding the same goal twice despite Amo demanding Klos put a man on the post for the second free kick and being told no.
 
Fantastic stat and to be honest unexpected after Lyon and malmo displays

Is it just me that doesn't think the Lyon display was that bad? Overall the game was pretty balanced, we had some good chances and didn't take them, they scored a wondergoal and then a fairly lucky OG.

They have players worth around £40m+ in their team and it showed, but we certainly competed against a side with a lot more talent at their disposal.
 
Think Uefas wording for their new format is confusing some folk who believe this "playoff round" is an extra round than normal.

It's not, it is the equivelant of our games v Braga and Antwerp the past 2 seasons (last 32)

The true change, is that the group winners have a bye to the next round altogether, but Uefa are never going to call it that. Playoff sounds better to them.
 
The round of 32 will be very difficult for us this season based on the new format.

Possible opponets:
- RB Leipzig/Club Brugge
- AC Milan/Atletico
- Dortmund
- FC Sheriff
- Barca/Benfica (could be barca based on final group fixtures for the two)
- Villareal/Atalanta
- Salzburg/Seville
- Zenit

We realistically need that to be FC Sheriff pulled out the pot for us. Imagine Haaland and Bellingham running at Goldson and Co B-D
 
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Not really a great achievement because everyone The Rangers play are pish/shite,thats what the Scottish media want you to believe,the truth is it's a great achievement,this is our team,this is our time.WATP
 
Means we can rest players for the next game.
Ideal tbh with the fixtures coming up.

Every win in Europe helps. Our progress in European competition is not by coincidence or luck, it is due to incremental improvements that come from a better coefficient.

We need to be winning as often as we can in Europe; so that automatic CL qualification becomes the norm, and so that the groups become easier as we become higher and higher seeds.

We shouldn’t ever be resting anyone in Europe. A single game win is worth more than a Scottish Cup win. Each individual match is paramount to our constant progression on that stage (coefficient points); bringing us wealth and stature, with an increased likelihood of signing/keeping better players.
 
The round of 32 will be very difficult for us this season based on the new format.

Possible opponets:
- RB Leipzig/Club Brugge
- AC Milan/Atletico
- Dortmund
- FC Sheriff
- Barca/Benfica (could be barca based on final group fixtures for the two)
- Villareal/Atalanta
- Salzburg/Seville

We realistically need that to be FC Sheriff pulled out the pot for us. Imagine Haaland and Bellingham running at Goldson and Co B-D

Surprised to see Dortmund lose 3-1 to Sporting. They don’t seem to be having a good season.
 
Unreal stat
Im not sure I can yet believe it, it is an incredible turn around given how we shot ourselves in the foot more than once. The debacle away performances only made is seem all the more unlikely to happen.

I actually felt we had more of a chance with Gerrard going into the Prague game and although Gio is a superb appointment, the lack of time just seemed another hurdle we didnt need for an already tricky game.

The players and Gio's Team deserve tremendous praise for being able to make a quick refocus happen and by all accounts the Manager was smart enough to keep it simple and just try to make small but effective changes over the 2 days.

What a start of Gio and what a restart for Rangers.
 
We were any one of 2 missed sitters and 2 wonder freekicks away from knocking out the winners.
That means you would probably have been a contender?

Especially as from memory we outplayed them, certainly at Ibrox, and from what I seen from the home end in Rotterdam too.
McCann getting himself sent off for dissent was critical that night.
Feyenoord were down to ten men and we, although chasing the game, looked good for it and had the upper hand.
 
We actually done it the right way, a poor start and a great finish.

We're normally sitting top after the first two games then proceed to blow it. So it's mightily satisfying to make such a turn round.

What a night we're going to have at Ibrox, regardless of the opposition.
 
Because if we'd lost the opening 2 in a decent group, there would be no coming back.

Losing to Prague over there and drawing with Brondby are terrible results against two terrible teams.
Add the Malmö results for the real picture that we've seriously regressed in Europe this season. All games we could and should have won with a bit to spare.
 
I for one am going to enjoy the fact that we are through yet again in Europe. It's always the same when we do achieve anything in Europe we are either lucky or the opposition are shite. What every happened to their are no easy games
 
It'll be inetersting to see how we approach that game. Money form a draw / win and co-efficients aside, it's a complete dead rubber.

I don't imagine we play the B team and take a skelping but it's a game that means literally nothing in among a challenging set of league fixtures.

It's fantastic to be in the position that we can treat it however we want. That's another luxury we're never afforded compared to many other teams of our standing in 6 game groups.
I don't know how it goes with bookings, so maybe not risking certain players on a yellow or two is the way to go.

A win would be nice for all manner of reasons but as you say, we have the luxury of playing a meaningless final game.
 
Because if we'd lost the opening 2 in a decent group, there would be no coming back.

Losing to Prague over there and drawing with Brondby are terrible results against two terrible teams.
It’s not though. That’s the point of the thread. Over the years, we’ve struggled to beat this level of team consistently. Other than a few years, we have consistently underperformed in Europe. We’re now a solid after Christmas team. Also, your perspective is wrong. You’re looking at the group from our perspective. If you’re a Sparta fan, you’d be thinking ‘Lyon, CL semis a few years ago, pot 2 team Rangers, unbeaten and topped a group with Benfica last year.’ This is a tough group. What I’m saying is we’re a decent European side now. Our challenge is to take a bigger scalp in knock out now.
 
Think Uefas wording for their new format is confusing some folk who believe this "playoff round" is an extra round than normal.

It's not, it is the equivelant of our games v Braga and Antwerp the past 2 seasons (last 32)

The true change, is that the group winners have a bye to the next round altogether, but Uefa are never going to call it that. Playoff sounds better to them.
Well to be fair they can't call it "the round of 32" when it only has 24 teams in it!
 
seeing our great club competing on the European stage every year is where we belong and not just making up the numbers
 
I think our best performance in the group was at home to Lyon ! Beat 2-0. The rest of the group were poor if we are honest about it
 
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