RANGERS began the 2019/20 season quietly confident of pushing Celtic close for a first Premiership title since 2011. And that one of the domestic cups should provide Steven Gerrard with his first trophy as a manager felt a distinct possibility.
But even the most optimistic Rangers fan couldn’t have envisaged that the Europa League would provide their greatest triumph. An embarrassing Ibrox defeat to Hamilton at the beginning of March has left the Gers 13 point adrift of champions Celtic – who have a game in hand over their Old Firm foes – and Hearts ended hopes of domestic silverware with a 1-0 Scottish Cup quarter-final victory over the Glaswegian side.
But Rangers have saved their best and most consistent form for their European campaign this term, and they prepare to face Bayer Leverkusen in the last 16 this week with the confidence of having already sprung upsets against strong and storied continental sides.
️ SG: I know they are a fantastic team, anyone sitting at that place in the Bundesliga has to be respected. They have shown they can compete at the top, we know the challenge but we relish it and will give it our best shot.
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) March 11, 2020
After waltzing untroubled through four qualifying ties, Rangers recorded hugely impressive home victories over Feyenoord and Porto in the group stage, also picking up credible away draws against both. With progress to the knockout rounds secured by a 1-1 draw away to Young Boys in December, Gerrard’s men then saw off Portugal’s Braga to book their date with Bayer.
Key to Rangers’ success on the European stage this term has been their ability to adapt to the demands of each opponent. On the surface, little about their approach seems to change from game to game. They set up with the same with 4-3-3 shape, with the veteran Steven Davis anchoring midfield and Alfredo Morelos as the focal point at the apex of the attack. But Gerrard has shown an ability to structure his side for success both with and without the ball, a vital skill for a team required to punch above their weight at times.
Rangers enjoyed a greater share of possession in their 2-0 win over Porto at Ibrox in November, but only 36.8 per cent in the 1-0 win over Feyenoord in September, outshooting the Dutch side by 20 attempts to 16 all the same. They had just a 42 per cent share of possession in the 3-2 first-leg win against Braga, topping the shots-on-target count 7-4; in the return fixture, with a lead to protect, they counter-punched again, seeing just 30.4 per cent of the ball but mustering five shots on target to Braga’s one in a 1-0 win in Portugal.
Combustible striker Alfredo Morelos, though without a goal in either leg against Braga, has been outstanding on Rangers’ Europa League run thus far, the competition’s top scorer in both the qualifying and group phases. However, after a storming start to the season, scoring 28 goals in all competitions before the turn of the year, he has found the net only once in his last 10 games. Although Morelos’ form will be a concern for Gerrard, he will remain the Rangers player Leverkusen most fear.
With Morelos misfiring, January loan signing Ianis Hagi was the star of Rangers’ 4-2 aggregate victory over Braga in the last round, scoring twice and assisting another across both legs. The Romanian wide man, son of the enigmatic former Barcelona and Real Madrid playmaker Gheorghe Hagi, adds a layer of unpredictability to the Gers’ attack, genuinely two-footed, a jinking dribbler and blessed with a thunderous strike from range.
Steven Gerrard says Scott Arfield is fit for Rangers v Bayer Leverkusen. Ryan Jack & Jermain Defoe are out. James Tavernier didn’t train today but will be given until the last minute. pic.twitter.com/M05cLEIYit
— Alison Conroy (@AlisonGConroy) March 11, 2020
While Rangers have upset the odds several times to get this far, Leverkusen represent by far their greatest test to date. Manager Peter Bosz guided a youthful Ajax side to the final of the competition in 2017, where they were beaten by Manchester United, and he has the German side purring of late, unbeaten in their last nine all-competitions games and fourth in the Bundesliga.
Leverkusen dropped into the Europa League at the midway point this season, having been eliminated from the Champions League at the group stage. But there is no shame in finishing behind Juventus and Atletico Madrid, as they did in Group D, and they vanquished one of Rangers’ own conquests, Porto, upon entering Europe’s secondary competition in the round of 32.
Twenty-year-old playmaker Kai Havertz is the key man for the German side. Reportedly wanted by Liverpool, Manchester United and Barcelona, the young No.10’s six goals and five assists in Bundesliga this term represents a modest overall return. But the youngster has been on fire since the winter break, with four goals and five assists in his last seven games in all competitions.
A thoroughly modern No.10, Havertz is not only a threat as a creator when the ball is fed into his feet but also astute in his pressing duties to recover the ball in high, dangerous areas and possesses the speed and instincts of a No.9 when breaking ahead of the ball into scoring positions.
The upside of Rangers’ disappointing recent domestic form is that they can focus their efforts even more intently on their Europa League campaign from here on. With Havertz and Leverkusen their next hurdle, that’s just as well.
