Ibrox-linked Romanian playmaker fires warning as Gers' Europa League foes assessed after MD1
Yesterday at 03:00 PM
Rangers got off to a rip-roaring start in the Europa League with their 2-0 going on 5-0 victory over Malmo in Sweden.
But it's just step one on an arduous journey across a challenging revamped Europa League group stage that will see the club take on some of European football's finest.
As part of the reformatted competition, participating clubs will face two teams apiece from each of the four pots, meaning there are eight games in total.
In each pot, teams will face one of the two teams away from home, and the other at home, meaning there are eight games in total with four at home and four away.
Rangers kicked off their Europa League campaign with a stunning victory over Malmo, but how did the other seven sides the Gers will face fare this week?
Rangers Europa League foes enjoy mixed start
Next up for Rangers in the Europa League are home ties at Ibrox against French side Lyon (03/10) and Romanian outfit FCSB (24/10).
The Gers will then face two matches on the road, heading to Greece to face Olympiakos (07/11) before a trip to France to play OGC Nice (28/11).
A double Premier League header then follows, with the Gers hosting Tottenham Hotspur (12/12) before a clash with Manchester United next year (23/01/25).
Rangers then finish their Europa League group campaign by hosting Belgian side USG (30/01/25).
Here's how all seven teams fared on Matchday One:
- Lyon 2 – 0 Olympiakos
- FCSB 4 – 1 RFS
- OGC Nice 1 – 1 Real Sociedad
- Spurs 3 -0 Qarabag
- Man Utd 1 – 1 FC Twente
- Fenerbahce 2 – 1 USG
Bigger tests lie on the horizon for Rangers
There are some big teams involved in Rangers' draw and obviously some big results here too.
Lyon proved they will be no pushovers at Ibrox next week with that 2-0 win over Greek foes Olympiakos, who will be a different animal on home soil.
FCSB also surprised many people with their hammering of Latvian side RFS, once Rangers-linked Darius Olaru netting a double in the match.
OGC Nice earned a respectable draw against talented La Liga outfit Real Sociedad, whilst Spurs hammed Azerbaijani club Qarabag 3-0 despite having a man sent off.
Manchester United were held by Sam Lammers and FC Twente, the Dutchman scoring an extraordinary goal at Old Trafford.
Belgian outfit USG fell victim to Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce side in Turkey.
