Graeme Souness says Rangers should not fear Barcelona
Graeme Souness has suggested that Rangers can go all the way to the finals of the Europa League.
The Gers progressed to the last 16 of the Europa League after earning a stunning 6-4 win on aggregate against Borussia Dortmund last month.
Souness feels that Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side have the confidence now to face any side, and that includes the mighty Barcelona.
Souness said, as quoted by The Scottish Sun: “Rangers now should have the confidence to go anywhere. They should fear nothing and no one now.
“Look at Barcelona. It’s their name which conjures up great things but this isn’t the team of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi so Rangers should have no fear if they end up meeting them in the final.
“In fact, they should have no fear meeting anyone right now.”
Step by step
Since taking over from Steven Gerrard, the transition has been very smooth under Van Bronckhorst.
The Gers may have dropped off the pace in the league, but they have done incredibly well in European games thus far.
Beating Dortmund away from home and winning the tie is a massive achievement, and Souness is right that they will be confident of facing any side at the moment.
Rangers will face Serbian champions Red Star Belgrade in the round of 16. The first leg will be played at Ibrox and the Gers need to pick up a big win on home turf.
It’s important for the side to not get carried away after the Dortmund win. The Bears are three points behind Celtic in the league, and they have done nothing yet to celebrate so early.
Reaching the finals of the Europa League will be massive from the club, but the focus should always be the next game.
In other Rangers news, Giovanni van Bronckhorst slams his substitute critics.