Rangers Europa League last 16 picture becomes clearer as Jose Mourinho's men all but through
Rangers now have a slightly better idea of who they could face in the last 16 of the Europa League.
A 2-1 win over Union Saint Gilloise saw Philippe Cement's men sneak into the top eight in the table, meaning they could bypass the playoff round and head straight into the last 16, allowing them to sit back and watch last week's draw with interest. The tournament now takes on extra significance following their Scottish Cup horror show against Queen's Park, meaning it's the only knock-out competition they are left in, while they trail Celtic by 13 points in the league.
Now it's all eyes on the continent to try and keep the campaign alive as long as possible. Rangers know they will face one of either Fenerbahce, Anderlecht, Bodo/Glimt or FC Twente in the next round. But after the first leg clashes in on Thursday, they can start narrowing it down a little.
The Turkish outfit made light work of the Belgians in Istanbul, cruising to a 3-0 win thanks to goals from veterans Dusan Tadic and Edin Dzeko, with Youssef En-Nesyri completing the scoring to leave the tie all over bar the shouting and Jose Mourinho on an Ibrox collision course.
The other game was a tighter affair as Twente left it late to snatch a 2-1 lead to take to the Arctic Circle next week. Sayfallah Ltaief's opener on five minutes was cancelled out by Patrick Berg with just five left to play. However, a 95th minute penalty for the hosts was converted by Rick van Wolfswinkel and boosted unused sub Sam Lammers' prospects of a return to Ibrox.
There is an outside chance that Gers could see the date of their first leg clash switched. With Fenerbahce all but through, there is still the possibility that bitter rivals Galatasaray join them in the last 16, meaning both