Rangers v Red Star Belgrade: Why Giovanni van Bronckhorst will want to repeat history and carry first leg lead to Serbia

The underground tunnel between the dressing rooms and pitch of the Red Star Stadium, Belgrade, has been a way-point for Scottish teams en route to two of the most recent European main-stage appearances - Scotland, at last summer’s Euro 2020 finals, and Rangers’ UEFA Cup run to Manchester in 2008.

Thursday evening will go a long way to determining if it will be again.

Rangers are 180 minutes away from the Europa League quarter finals, at the last-16 stage they have reached for the third times in the past three years.

Having eliminated Borussia Dortmund, the tournament favourites in the last round, Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team now faces the Serbian SuperLiga champions Crvena Zvezda in the last 16, first at Ibrox, before the Scottish champions head to the Marakana, now known as the Rajko Mitić Stadium, for the crucial second leg.

The abolished away goals rule enhances the prospect of penalties if two teams cannot be separated on aggregate, no matter where or when the goals are scored.

Ryan Jack, take note.

The Rangers midfielder was an integral part of Steve Clarke’s Scotland side which edged into the European Championships in the Serbian shoot-out of November 2019 when the sides couldn’t be separated by 120minutes of football.

Little split Rangers and Red Star when they first met in 1964 and a draw 5-5 on aggregate had to be settled at the neutral venue of Highbury, where Rangers won 3-1.

There was little between the sides when they last met either, and Thursday’s first leg will be pivotal in setting the tone of this tie, just as they did emphatically against tournament favourites BVB in the last round.

Nacho Novo scored in the final minute of the 2007 first leg between the teams, a 1-0 aggregate lead that was retained