When Ibrox witnessed the most bizarre Rangers goal ever with Champions League final dream kept alive
03/18/2025 08:00 AM
Rangers of the 1990s almost echoed the current Celtic team in that they found domestic dominance easy and European football a bit of a struggle.
There was the odd adventure, near miss or what might have been as Graeme Souness and Walter Smith led talent the sort of Rangers squad that fans are crying out for now.
Not only could they play football, but they could roll their sleeves up too as perfectly demonstrated by the class of 1992/93.
Led by Hall of Fame legend Richard Gough, there was a core of Scots supplemented by flamboyant imports and established internationals.
On this week: Rangers vs Club Brugge in Champions League thriller
A mere 32 years ago this week, Club Brugge were the visitors to Ibrox in the inaugural Champions League as Rangers edged closer to the dream of an appearance in the final.
For the home side, the three foreigner rule saw players like Neil Murray and Scott Nisbet – more of him later – play in the biggest games of their lives.
It also saw unsung heroes made of John Brown and Dave McPherson, who epitomised the heart of Smith's teams.
Bizarrely, Ally McCoist failed to score in the group stage with Ian Durrant and Mark Hateley the two who caused the most damage, in a literal sense for the former England international.
Involved in a tussle with his marker, Hateley saw red, then saw red from the referee too, trying to rid himself of the Brugge defender's attentions.
It was never a sending off, but Hateley should have known better given his time at AC Milan and Monaco.
With Rangers chances of topping the group and reaching the final now hanging by a thread and a full half to play with 10-men, they needed a hero.
The most bizarre goal in Rangers’ history?
Things got worse before they got better as Brugge, with former Rangers assistant manager Stefan van de Heyden in midfield, equalised before one of the most famous goals in Ibrox folklore.
With 20 minutes to go, a blocked Trevor Steven cross saw Nisbet look to get to the second ball first only for his tackle-cum-cross-cum-shot to loop over Dany Verlinden in the Brugge goal.
The trajectory, spin, bounce, all of it was like nothing anyone had ever seen before.
A mud bath of a pitch might have had something to do with it, not that Rangers fans, or Nisbet complained as the Champions League dream was kept alive and the unbeaten run continued.
