Rangers 4 potential Champions League playoff rivals confirmed and each one stirs memories of epic Euro nights

Take each game as it comes. It’s one of the oldest cliches in the book. But while managers and players might stick to it – supporters can be forgiven for ignoring it. And that is certainly true when it comes to the Champions League.

Fans have the small matter of trying to beat the rush when it comes to booking up budget flights and hotels when travelling abroad to see their team. How many Rangers fans saved cash by gambling on their team reaching the Europa League Final in Seville and booking before the semi final second leg against RB Leipzig. Or, in some cases, even earlier.

So wily punters often don’t listen to the well-worn one-game-at-a-time cliche. And when it comes to the format of the Champions League draw then there is every reason to look ahead. Rangers will be in the hat for the play off round of Europe’s premier tournament without actually knowing if they will still be in the competition at that stage.

The draw in Nyon actually takes place on the morning of the first leg of their third round qualifier against Union Saint-Gilloise on August 2. So by next Tuesday morning Rangers will know exactly what they have to do to reach the group sage and join the cream of the continent for the first time in more than a decade.

And their potential path became that little bit clearer on Tuesday night as their list of possible opponents dropped from five. That was when Dynamo Kiev eliminated Fenerbahce in a match marred by sickening chants for Vladimir Putin from the Turkish fans.

That came after Vitaliy Buyalskyi had given the Ukrainians the lead in the Şukru Saracoglu Stadium in Istanbul and while Fenerbahce levelled the tie a the death in normal time, it was Dynamo Kiev who progressed with an extra-time winner.