Rangers vs Crvena zvezda: UEFA Europa League history, form guide, previous meetings | UEFA Europa League
Impressive winners of Borussia Dortmund in the knockout stages, Scottish champions Rangers host Serbian counterparts Crvena zvezda in the round of 16 first leg of the UEFA Europa League, a stage of the competition from which the Glasgow side have been knocked out each times. of the last two seasons.
• Rangers clinched a place in the UEFA Europa League knockout stage with one game to spare, finishing second behind Lyon in Group A on eight points, before beating Dortmund 6-4 on aggregate (4-2 a, 2-2 h) with Captain James Tavernier. scoring three of their goals in the tie.
• Crvena zvezda topped Group F in the autumn ahead of Braga, Midtjylland and Ludogorets but as section winners with just six goals – the same number Rangers managed in Group A. That was the first time the Belgrade team had ever finished first in a European group.
Rangers vs Crvena zvezda: the latest match news
Previous meetings
• Rangers and Crvena zvezda have already played three times in UEFA competition, with the Scottish side having the advantage with two aggregate wins against one.
• A play-off in London was needed to separate the teams when they first met, in the 1964/65 European Cup preliminary round, after Rangers won the first leg 3-1 in Glasgow and Crvena zvezda s won 4-2 in Belgrade. to return to. With no away goals rule in place, the Scottish side qualified after winning the extra game 3–1 at Arsenal’s Highbury.
• The teams only met in the second round of Crvena zvezda’s triumphant 1990/91 European Cup campaign, with Darko Pančev scoring in both matches as the Belgrade side went on to a 3-0 home win with a 1-1 draw in Glasgow.
• The most recent encounter, however, belonged to Rangers, as they eliminated Crvena zvezda from the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round, Nacho Novo’s 90th-minute goal in the first leg at Ibrox s ‘proving to be the only goal of the meeting. . Walter Smith’s side would end this European campaign as UEFA Cup runners-up.
• Rangers’ only other UEFA game against a Serbian opponent was a 2006/07 UEFA Cup group game at home to Partizan, which they won 1-0 thanks to an Alan Hutton goal for reach the knockout stage. They are therefore undefeated at home by the Serbian visitors (W3 D1).
• Crvena zvezda’s all-time home and away record against Scottish opponents is W2 L3. Beaten by Celtic in the 1968/69 European Cup second round (1-5 a, 1-1 h), they beat Hearts on away goals in the Cup Winners’ Cup qualifying round European 1996/97 (0-0h, 1-1y). They still have to win in five trips to Scotland (D2 L3).
Form Guide
Rangers
• Unbeaten champions Scotland in 2020/21 as they won a record 55th domestic league title, Rangers also made 13 appearances in the UEFA Europa League, progressing from the second qualifying round to the round of 16, where their journey ended with Slavia Prague (1-1 a, 0-2 h).
• Rangers returned to the UEFA Champions League for the first time in a decade this season but lost both third qualifying round matches 2-1 to Malmö and were therefore transferred to the UEFA Europa play-offs League, where they edged out Alashkert to reach the final. group stage for the fourth consecutive season. Although they lost their first two group games – against Lyon (0-2 h) and Sparta (0-1 a) – they remained unbeaten thereafter, taking four points from Brøndby (2-0 h, 1-1 a) and taking second place. place with a 2-0 victory over Sparta at Ibrox on matchday five in their first game under new manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who had replaced Steven Gerrard.
• This is Rangers’ fourth appearance in the UEFA Europa League round of 16, and their third in a row, a record. However, in the previous three campaigns they failed to qualify for the quarter-finals, coming out at PSV Eindhoven in 2010/11 (0-0 a, 0-1 h), at Bayer Leverkusen in 2019/20 (1-3 h, 0-1 a) and Slavia last season. They are therefore yet to win a game at this stage of the competition, scoring just two goals and losing all three home games.
• The Glasgow giants have lost just five of their last 31 European home games (W19 D7), although three of those defeats have come in the last seven – against Slavia, Malmö and Lyon. In the UEFA Europa League knockout stage, their record at Ibrox is W2 D2 L3, with all three eliminations all triggered by those home defeats.
Crvena zvezda
• A fourth consecutive Serbian SuperLiga title for Crvena zvezda in 2020/21, and second under manager Dejan Stanković, was completed with a first victory in nine years in the Serbian Cup. The club’s first domestic double since 2006/07 capped a season in which they also played a dozen games in Europe, reaching the knockout stages of the UEFA Europa League, where they lost goals at the outside against AC Milan (2-2 h, 1- 1a).
• This season’s bid to return to the UEFA Champions League group stage, where Crvena zvezda played in the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons, was thwarted by Moldovan champions Sheriff in the third qualifying round after that the Belgrade team had eliminated Kairat Almaty. CFR Cluj were then convincingly beaten in the UEFA Europa League play-offs to secure Crvena zvezda’s third appearance in the group stage. After advancing as runners-up in each of their two previous campaigns, in 2017/18 and 2020/21, they clinched top spot in Group F on 11 points with a 1-1 draw against second-placed Braga. the 6th day.
• This is the Belgrade side’s first appearance in the UEFA Europa League Round of 16. They lost in the Round of 16 to CSKA Moskva (0-0h, 0-1a) in 2017/18 and to Milan last season. It is the club’s biggest advancement in a UEFA competition for 30 years.
• Crvena zvezda have lost just two of their 11 away matches in the UEFA Europa League proper (W3, D6), conceding just six goals in the process. Despite being beaten on the road in both UEFA Champions League qualifiers this season, they are unbeaten in seven away matches in the UEFA Europa League, including this season’s fixtures at CFR (2 -1), Ludogorets (1-0), Midtjylland (1 -1) and Braga.
UEFA Europa League squad changes
Rangers
In: Amad Diallo (Manchester United, loan), Aaron Ramsey (Juventus, loan), James Sands (New York, loan)
Outside: Juninho Bacuna (Birmingham City), Ianis Hagi, Filip Helander, Nathan Patterson (Everton)
Crvena zvezda
In: Nemanja Motika (Bayern Munich II), Ohi Omoijuanfo (Molde), Cristiano Piccini (Valencia)
Outside: Miloš Degenek (Columbus Crew), Lois Diony, Marko Lazetić (AC Milan), Njegoš Petrović (Granada)
Links and stories
• Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor, who made his 100th appearance in UEFA club competition in the first leg against Dortmund, kept a clean sheet in both games for the Ibrox club by beating Crvena zvezda in 2007/08 UEFA Champions League qualifying.
• Crvena zvezda Austrian international defender Aleksandar Dragović was part of the Leverkusen side that eliminated Rangers from the UEFA Europa League two seasons ago, starting the first leg at Ibrox and coming off the bench in the second leg.
• Aleksandar Katai, who converted crucial penalties for Crvena zvezda in both group games against Braga, also found the net for Serbia against Scotland in the UEFA EURO 2020 play-off penalty shoot-out, where Scotland, with Ryan Jack of Rangers, won 5-4 in Belgrade.
• Rangers midfielder Scott Arfield and Crvena zvezda goalkeeper Milan Borjan both played international football for Canada.
• Opposing managers Van Bronckhorst and Stanković met for the Netherlands and Serbia and Montenegro respectively in a group stage match at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, with the Oranje winning 1-0 in Leipzig. Both players have won over 100 caps at senior international level (Van Bronckhorst 106, Stanković 103).
• Rangers are in the last 16 of the UEFA Europa League for the third successive season. Only one team, Sevilla (2013/14–2015/16), have already scored the treble.
• Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos’ goal in the first leg against Dortmund was his 31st in all rounds of the UEFA Europa League, qualifying included, making him the third-highest all-time goalscorer in the league UEFA Europa League and UEFA Cup combined – level with Radamel Falcao and Aritz Aduriz and behind only Henrik Larsson (40) and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (34).
• Rangers and Crvena zvezda are the only two defending domestic champions to make the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 this season. The Serbian club is one of three national cup winners on the pitch, along with Barcelona and Braga.
• Crvena zvezda are one of three former European Cup/UEFA Champions League winners involved in the UEFA Europa League Round of 16, along with Barcelona and Porto.
• Serbia have a club in the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 for the first time, making them the 23rd nation represented at this stage of the competition.
• Rangers and Crvena zvezda currently sit second in their domestic league standings behind their arch-rivals, the first three points behind Celtic, the bottom two behind Partizan.
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