Rangers can win Europa League as impressive stats show
Rangers went a very long way towards securing their place in the Europa League quarter-finals last night with a 3-0 win at home to Red Star Belgrade.
Captain James Tavernier, top scorer Alfredo Morelos and centre-half Leon Balogun all found themselves on the scoresheet as they left their Serbian opponents with a mountain to climb in the return leg next week.
Having already knocked Bundesliga title-challengers Borussia Dortmund out of the competition in the previous round, no team will relish a trip to Ibrox.
It isn’t just the fear factor that Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side have managed to strike into the rest of the Europa League, but their defensive abilities have become a staple of their run.
As the Scottish Sun highlights, the Light Blues have recovered the ball on a mammoth 379 occasions which is 11 more than the next best side Braga.
One of the favourites to lift the trophy West Ham are a huge 92 recoveries behind the Gers.
They have also attempted more tackles than any other side and have made the fourth most clearances throughout the group stage and knockout rounds.
Admittedly, some teams haven’t played the same number of games as van Bronckhorst’s Rangers as Red Star were among those who received a bye through the previous round by winning their group.
The likes of Sevilla and Barcelona are also low down on the list having only come into the competition by virtue of finishing third in their respective Champions League groups pre-Christmas.
Regardless of these facts, the Gers are doing an outstanding job on the continent so far and even the mighty Barcelona will be terrified of coming to Glasgow.
There is no reason why the Light Blues can’t go all the way and lift that coveted trophy for the first time.
In other Rangers news, there are two significant injury doubts ahead of this weekend’s Scottish Premiership clash against Dundee.