Rangers Try To Advance In Europe vs. Vienna

Rangers look to advance to the knockout stages of Europa League as they travel to face Rapid Wien. A Victory will see them advance.

Rangers have already come a long way on the European stage. They were never supposed to even make it to the group stage, plowing through a gauntlet of difficult matches on their way. But they persisted and arrived.

Possibly advancing to the knockout stages is not needed. Making to the group stage and being competitive is more than most anyone would’ve expected heading into the season, but now that the chance is there, Rangers must take it.

Rangers only victory in the group stages came against Rapid Wien at Ibrox, a 3-1 victory where Vienna’s only goal was clearly botched offsides missed-call.

The way the rest of the group has shaken out, it is pretty much a win or go home for Rangers and they control their own destiny. Get all three points and they advance.

Advancing to the knockout stages would be huge for Rangers in more way than one. First off is the obvious financial benefits of the extra revenue, but even further is the mental aspect.

Returning to the knock-out stages would be another huge victory for Steven Gerrard in his rookie season as manager, and be yet another good sign that Rangers are truly on the come-up. It would also be a great way to wash out the bad taste of this past weekends match against Dundee.

Failure to advance would hardly be heartbreaking. Rangers have advanced further than they had any right, and to even be entering the last day of group-play with an opportunity to advance is a good accomplishment. But they must reach for more.