Rangers’ record in European semi-finals as RB Leipzig lie in wait

Rangers take on RB Leipzig in the first leg of the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side are looking to become the fifth Rangers team to reach a European final.

Here, we look at past European semi-finals involving Rangers.

Rangers had the chance to reach the fifth European Cup final, which would be played at Hampden, when they were paired with Eintracht Frankfurt in the last four. An Eric Caldow penalty had Scot Symon’s team level at half-time in Germany but the tie was over by the end of the first leg after a second-half collapse saw the Germans hit five goals without reply. Eintracht also scored six at Ibrox to win 12-4 on aggregate and were applauded off the park by many in the 70,000 crowd. They would return to Glasgow later in May to play a supporting role in one of football’s most famous games as Real Madrid maintained their stranglehold on the trophy with a 7-3 triumph.

Rangers only had a year to wait to reach a European final and beat Wolves 3-1 on aggregate to do so. Goals from Alex Scott and Ralph Brand gave Gers a healthy advantage after the first leg in front of an 80,000 sell-out crowd at Ibrox. Rangers restored some Scottish pride in the second leg – which came days after a 9-3 defeat for the national team at Wembley – with Scott netting the opener. A number of the 10,000 travelling fans invaded the Molineux pitch to celebrate but the final was less enjoyable for them as their team lost home and away to Fiorentina.

Goals from Davie Wilson and Willie Johnston in each leg were enough to earn Rangers a 2-0 aggregate win over Slavia Sofia and set up a final against Bayern Munich. The German side stopped Glasgow securing both major European trophies in the same season as a