By David Herd
It’s game number two for Rangers in the new-look Europa League this Thursday night, and after a terrific opening win away to Swedish champions Malmo, the first home fixture in the competition sees another old foe arrive in Glasgow. The opposition are French outfit Olympique Lyonnais, better known simply as Lyon.
Lyon go into the game on the back of two good results, a home win over Conference League holders Olympiakos in their opening Europa match followed by an away victory in their domestic league at Toulouse. This latest win was one they badly needed after a poor start to their league challenge, having lost three of their opening six matches against Rennes, Monaco and Marseille. Although the win left them still outside the top ten and trailing leaders PSG by nine points, they will no doubt be aiming their sights at one of the four Champions League qualification places at season’s end. And a look at their summer transfer strategy explains why that ambition is so important.
Lyon’s nett spend in the summer transfer window was an eye-watering 109 million euros. Philippe Clement has talked recently of the massive overhaul he is overseeing at Ibrox, fair to say that his counterpart Pierre Sage will be saying the same thing at his press conferences. There have been 15 new faces arriving through the doors of Parc Olympique Lyonnais at an overall cost of around 148 million euros. A few of them will be familiar faces to those who enjoy Match of the Day on a Saturday night, with the likes of Orel Mangala (Notts Forest, 23 million), Said Benrahma (West Ham, 15 million) and Moussa Niakhate (Notts Forest, 32 million) as well as former Crystal Palace and Manchester United Wilfried Zaha arriving on a season-long deal from Galatasaray for a loan fee of 3 million. Meantime, 19 players have gone out the exit door, recouping 39 million. Their sixth place finish last season, a massive 23 points behind champions PSG, has obviously prompted the owners to sanction a serious rebuild.
Lyon represent a significant step up in class from the Swedes last midweek, and a massive step up in financial disparity too. With fellow Ligue Un outfit Nice being a future opponent, progression deeper into the tournament may depend on how Rangers fare against the French. And that thought makes me think back to the four best European seasons of my personal Rangers lifetime – 1971/72, 1992/93, 2007/08 and 2021/22. All of them unforgettable, and all of them with a distinct Gallic flavour and key occasions involving French opponents.
Obviously, the first of these stands towering above the others, still the only European campaign that ended with the Rangers captain holding the trophy aloft. The unique place that the Barcelona Bears hold in our club’s history started with a first-round clash with the French cup winners Stade Rennais, better known simply as Rennes. And, like that every round of that wonderful adventure, it was a game against a top side that was decided by a narrow margin. The first leg was in France, and the starting eleven contained eight of the men who would go on to become immortals the following May against Moscow Dynamo. The three who started against Rennes who were not in the final line-up were central defenders Ronnie McKinnon and Colin Jackson (who both missed the final due to injury) and midfielder Andy Penman. But it was a man who wrote his name all over the Barcelona triumph who made the headlines, Willie Johnston grabbing the opener in the 68th minute to give Rangers the lead. And although substitute Philippe Redon grabbed an equaliser twelve minutes later, a 1-1 draw with a precious away goal was a good night’s work.
It still meant Rangers had to get it right at Ibrox in the return game a fortnight later on September 28 1971, and 42,000 were inside Ibrox to see if they could both find a goal and keep the back door closed. It was a nervy night on and off the park, with many home fans growing frustrated at Willie Waddell’s tactical approach that saw the team look to ensure that away goal would be crucial. A clean sheet and Rangers would progress, even without scoring a goal. But seven minutes from half-time they did get to see a goal, and it would prove to be all that was needed. Willie Henderson had been recalled to the team on the night, and his flair and goal threat allied to Johnston on the other wing provided most of the excitement for those on the Ibrox slopes. Although Henderson was the man singled out by the French and the press afterwards, it was Johnston who unlocked the Rennes defence. He wriggled free of his markers and hit a fierce shot that the goalkeeper could only parry. And that was exactly what Alex MacDonald had hoped for, the tireless midfielder making one of his trademark runs into the box and getting to the rebound first to smash it home. Colin Stein hit the bar in a second half that Rangers dominated, and with McKinnon and Jackson easily dealing with the occasional French flurry, the game ended 1-0. Rangers were on their way towards glory.
But while 1971/72 is alone atop our European history, there have been three occasions since then when we came agonisingly close. The first of these was in the incredible treble-winning season of 1992/93, when Walter Smith built a team with an incredibly never-surrender attitude, and who went through an entire European campaign undefeated. There was a 44-game undefeated run across all competitions, as a team with a True Blue spine of steel and goals got within one match of reaching the first-ever Champions League final. The champions of England, Leeds United were vanquished in the last qualifying round. A team containing the likes of Eric Cantona, Gary McAllister, Gary Speed and Gordon Strachan were defeated home and away meaning Rangers were one of the eight clubs to play in that inaugural Champions League group. In there with Rangers were FC Brugges of Belgium and CSKA Moscow of Russia. Neither threatened to win the group, which meant progression into the final. The group would be decided between Rangers and the mega-rich French Champions, Marseille.
The French were owned by the flamboyant Bernard Tapie, who at the time owned the sportwear company Adidas. He had ploughed in serious money, attracting to the club the likes of Germany’s World Cup winning striker Rudi Voller and Croatian forward Alen Boksic, as well as the cream of French footballing talent such as Marcel Desailly, Franck Sauzee, Didier Deschamps and Basile Boli. They travelled to Ibrox for the opening group fixture, at a bad time for Rangers. Top scorer Ally McCoist and influential midfielder Ian Ferguson were out injured, and skipper Richard Gough was struggling badly to be passed fit. On a rainy night in Govan, Walter Smith’s men showed just how hard they were to defeat.
The first half saw the visitors dominate, and with Gough toiling badly after being risked in the centre of defence, it was no surprise when they finally broke the deadlock after half an hour. Gough misjudged a high ball and allowed Voller to nip in behind him down the Rangers right. His defensive partner John Brown went out to deal with the danger, but Voller managed to cut the ball back into the area where the unmarked Boksic steered it home first time. It was a goal that underlined the fitness problems of the Rangers skipper, and he didn’t return to the field after half time, replaced by youngster Steven Pressley.
The second period began as the first, with Marseille totally in control, and it looked all over when they went 2-0 up just before the hour mark. And this one was even more of a defensive calamity. A harmless looking high ball into the Rangers area should have been allowed to go through to Andy Goram in goal, but young Pressley decided to try to play the ball due to the presence of the lurking Voller. He succeeded only in knocking the ball almost out of Goram’s hands, as the keeper had left his line to collect it. Voller could hardly believe his luck, as he then was able to virtually walk it into the empty net. Two down, and no Gough, McCoist or Ferguson to turn to in the last half hour. Rangers looked dead and buried. Walter Smith threw striker Gary McSwegan for Trevor Steven for the last fifteen minutes as he went for broke, meaning that he joined fellow youngsters Pressley and Neil Murray on the pitch. And it was a change that inspired an unforgettable comeback.
Just three minutes later, Ian Durrant, now playing more centrally in the Ibrox mud, sprayed a wonderful pass out wide and into the path of the galloping Alexei Mikhailichenko. His cross was perfect for the lurking McSwegan, and the substitute guided a magnificent header from fully fourteen yards high past the diving Barthez and into the corner of the net. All of a sudden, the previously quiet Ibrox Stadium was a sea of noise, and the inspired men in royal blue now scented French blood. With seven minutes left, noisy became euphoric. The irrepressible Durrant broke down the right, played a 1-2 with McSwegan then fired in a cross. The ball was deflected off a defender and then bulleted into the net at the near post by the diving Mark Hateley. If ever a match summed up the No Surrender mentality of that Rangers team this was it, the Marseille players all shaking their heads as they left the pitch wondering just how the scoreboard was reading 2-2 after they had so completely dominated for almost 80 minutes.
The teams would play out another fiercely contested draw in the south of France in the return match the following April, when Durrant again inspired a comeback from behind, this time with a wonderful goal in game that finished 1-1. If either side had won that night, they would have gone through to the final, as a winner would have meant a two point gap between them and head-to-head results used in the event of a tie on points. Sadly, the French would beat Brugges in their final match, meaning Rangers would need something of a goals avalanche against the Russians at the same time at Ibrox. That game ended goalless, Marseille were through by a point, Rangers were out, unbeaten and unbowed. When Basile Boli scored the winner in the final against Milan, the sense of “what might have been” grew even stronger amongst the Rangers support. When it subsequently transpired that Tapie had been found guilty of bribing domestic match officials that same season and his club relegated in France, the suspicions over the victories over Moscow and Brugges remain to this day. Further allegations emerged that their players had regularly taken performance enhancing banned substances. Marseille were stripped of their 1992/93 domestic title but not the first ever Champions League. The bitterness is still felt by those of us old enough.
And now, on to the French club who will face Rangers this week. Lyon have only ever faced Rangers twice before in competitive European tournament football, and both coincided with seasons that Rangers came agonisingly close to immortality. The first was in season 2007/08, when Walter Smith’s team were given the toughest imaginable draw in the Champions League group stage after qualifying for the competition in Smith’s first full season back in charge. Bundesliga winners FC Stuttgart and Ligue Un champions Lyon would face Rangers along with 2006 Champions League winners Barcelona. Rangers started off the section with a fantastic come-from-behind win at home to Stuttgart at a raucous Ibrox, with their second fixture a trip to France to play a Lyon side who had won their domestic title for six successive seasons, and who had become regulars into the knockout stages of Europe’s biggest prize. Few gave Rangers a hope.
Perhaps only Dortmund in 2022 rivals the scoreline that night for the best ever away win Rangers have achieved in almost 70 years of European fixtures. The match stats, other than goals scored, all were massively in favour of Lyon. But in the only statistic that really matters, Rangers ended well in front. A thumping Lee McCulloch gave the visitors a shock lead at the break, but that was nothing compared to the opening stages of the second half. A sharp turn and deadly finish by striker Daniel Cousin doubled the lead, then the big Gabonese international launched a 50-yard through ball to the onside Damarcus Beasley for the American winger to make it 3-0. With 35 minutes still to play, Rangers were out of sight, and the vast majority of the 38,000 crowd were in shock. The pocket of away fans were anything but silent, however! Despite a few scares, the Rangers goal remained intact, and Walter Smith celebrated a stunning 3-0 victory.
Six points from two games became seven from three when Barcelona were held at Ibrox. But after qualification had looked a decent bet, defeats in Spain and Germany meant a last night shootout at Ibrox against Lyon. The winners would qualify, the losers would finish third and end up in the UEFA Cup. With home advantage, and with memories of the win in France, the capacity Ibrox crowd were feeling confident. But on the night, Lyon proved to be just too good. They took the lead after 16 minutes through winger Sidney Govou, and they were well worth that single goal advantage at the break. Rangers pushed forward more in the second half, and gave the Lyon goalkeeper a few nervous moments, although the closest to another goal was at the other end when Brazilian dead ball specialist Juninho hit the crossbar with a stunning free kick. Then in the closing stages came the two minutes that decided the outcome.
Moments after Lyon’s sensational young striker Benzema had contrived to miss after rounding Allan McGregor, Rangers should have made him pay but missed an even worse sitter. Jean-Claude Darcheville got on the end of a brilliant Barry Ferguson cutback and it looked impossible for him to miss the gaping goal from a few yards out. But somehow, he managed to connect with his shin and watch on in horror as the ball flew upward, struck the crossbar and went over the top. Ibrox couldn’t believe it, and the fans were still shaking their heads when Benzema took advantage of defensive hesitancy to fire the ball through McGregor and into the net. Salt was then rubbed into Rangers’ wounds when the same player thumped home a brilliant third minutes later. The pain was still not over, with Darcheville completing a horror last few minutes by being red carded in injury time for retaliation. The 3-0 scoreline had been reversed, Lyon had deservedly won, and Rangers had the consolation prize of the UEFA Cup after Christmas.
And what a consolation it proved to be. Panathanaikos were defeated on away goals, Werder Bremen defeated 2-1 on aggregate in the last 16 thanks to a terrific home performance and a McGregor save in Germany that had the Goram comparisons written. Sporting Lisbon in the quarter-finals saw a goalless home draw forgotten after a brilliant 2-0 win in Lisbon that saw Darcheville regaining hero status and a Steven Whittaker solo goal that Davie Cooper would have been proud of. Fiorentina in the semi-final failed to produce a goal in either match, with the resultant penalty shootout reducing many grown men to tears of utter joy when Nacho Novo stroked home the decisive kick. Walter Smith had somehow steered Rangers into their first European final in 36 years, and Manchester wasn’t going to be big enough. It didn’t end in Barry Ferguson lifting the trophy, but the memories that UEFA run provided will be forever etched in millions of true blue hearts.
Lyon’s only other competitive visit to Ibrox came in 2021, as Rangers emerged from the Covid pandemic as Scottish champions at last, but then suffered Champions League qualifying disappointment after an abject loss to Malmo. Steven Gerrard’s team had produced several heroics in the now-branded Europa League, but we all felt this was now time to see them test themselves at the higher level. Qualification into the group stage was negotiated unimpressively, and the draw saw Rangers paired alongside Lyon, Sparta Prague and Brondby in Group A. The opening fixtures would see Lyon travel to Glasgow. Much of the pre-match comment centred around former Celtic striker Moussa Dembele and his boasts about goals scored against a very different Rangers in the days prior to Gerrard’s arrival, but once the match arrived he wasn’t on the pitch due to injury.
There was still plenty firepower out there, however, Lyon being a side who had reached the last four of the Champions League the previous season, and who were widely regarded as a real threat to anyone in the competition. And on the night, they proved just too strong. After an even start, they silenced Ibrox with a quite brilliant goal after 23 minutes. There seemed little danger when Cameroon winger Karl Toko Ekambi picked up possession out wide and 40 yards from goal, but he cut inside, wrongfooted the retreating Rangers defence with a stepover and quick change of direction, then fired in a superb shot from 20 yards that gave McGregor no chance. Rangers had stuttered somewhat in the early weeks of the season after the highs of their title-winning campaign, and Gerrard was about to taste defeat for the fourth time in the new season already. His side tried manfully, and did create chances. But Lyon always looked that bit more composed and that bit classier, and they went further in front in the second half thanks to a freak goal.
There was 55 minutes on the clock when a Slamani effort was cleared off the line by Connor Goldson, but the ball then struck the unfortunate James Tavernier and rebounded back off the captain into this own net. Rangers never gave up, and did come close a few times, most notably when the captain hit the bar with a free kick. But the match ended 2-0 to the visitors, and this looked like the first season under Gerrard where European progress wouldn’t be made. Instead, the fans then went on the most amazing rollercoaster.
A defeat in Prague and a draw in Denmark left Rangers hanging on by their fingertips, but a home win over Brondby and other results going their way meant Rangers somehow were one win from qualification. Gerrard then resigned, his reign ending in circumstances that left a bitter taste to some. New man Giovanni van Bronckhorst came in, and he had the opportunity to immediately put a success against his name against Sparta at Ibrox. The 2-0 win meant guaranteed progression to the last 32, finishing second in the group a long way behind runaway winners Lyon. There was a return match in France to play which meant nothing to the overall standings, and Rangers returned home with a creditable 1-1 draw thanks to a Scott Wright goal.
The last 32 draw saw the toughest possible opponent, the mighty Borussia Dortmund who had surprisingly dropped out of the Champions League. The rest, as they say, is history. Dortmund were dispatched in a style that to this day brings a smile, who can ever forget the feeling when the ball went in their net for the fourth time in Germany! Ibrox became one of, if not the most, impressive fortresses in continental competition, as a combination of ear-splitting atmospheres and incredibly mature European performances saw Rangers march all the way to the final, just ten years after being consigned to the Scottish Third Division. Hollywood scriptwriters would have rejected it as too unbelievable.
Dortmund ended up 6-4 with nerves shredded, Red Star Belgrade followed with few worries after being blown away at Ibrox, with a vital McGregor penalty save at a crucial moment. Braga went to extra time before Kemar Roofe reminded us why we all wished he could stay fit, then a semi-final against Leipzig that many seasoned supporters maintain is the loudest and craziest night they have ever enjoyed at our stadium. Injuries at the wrong time caught up with the squad, sadly, along with a terrible penalty in a shootout where Frankfurt were faultless. But that moment that Joe Aribo hit the ball past their goalkeeper to give Rangers the lead will possibly be the greatest moment of many Rangers lives.
A lot of things have happened since, and fair to say that Rangers are not the team we all hoped we were seeing built back in Gerrard’s time. In terms of players, and in terms of trophies, we are now a shadow of the team we need to be. Lyon are here again, and they come to the stadium with a record of two wins from two games, no goals conceded and five scored. They should be associated with bad times and bad memories, but instead they represent the low before the highest of highs. The dark before the dawn. Maybe Rangers will finally beat them. Maybe we will get to celebrate Lyon going home with nothing. But even if Rangers do lose, history tells us that defeat to them is never the end. In fact, if they do leave Glasgow with the three points this Thursday, let’s hope it means we are about to see the greatest ever version of Third Time Lucky!
