Just one more hurdle stands between the Light Blues and the lucrative league phase and it’s a familiar opponent
20:30, 12 Aug 2025Updated 22:20, 12 Aug 2025
‘Rangers were WOEFUL and that’s the worst we’ve seen so far’ – Hotline Live
Rangers will face Club Brugge in the playoff round of the Champions League after the Belgians played out a right humdinger of a tie with Red Bull Salzburg.
Russell Martin’s men defeated Viktoria Plzen 4-2 over two legs to book their place in the final qualification round and their slightly earlier kick-off time saw them await the result from Bruges to see just who they will take on later this month.
Gers had won 3-0 at Ibrox last week but fell to a 2-1 loss in the Czech Republic with Lyall Cameron opening his account for the club with a consolation strike.
Brugge – who played Celtic in the Champions League last season – went into the return fixture at home with a narrow one goal advantage from the first leg in the Austrian capital last week.
But the outcome of the tie was then swung on it’s head when Salzburg raced into a 2-0 lead within the first 45 minutes courtesy of goal from Jacob Rassmussen and Edmund Baidoo.
However, the Belgian Pro League outfit regained control after the break and struck twice to win the tie 3-2 on aggregate.
Joaquin Seys made it 2-1 on 61 minutes before Carlos Forbs netted the crucial goal seven minutes from time to set up a showdown with Rangers next week.
The Light Blues will welcome Bruges to Ibrox on August 19/20 before making the trip to Belgium a week later on August 26/27.
Rangers were given the opportunity to have extra preparation time in between the two ties, as part of a new SPFL scheme to help Scottish teams trying to qualify for European competition.
They had initially lodged a request to the Premiership’s governing body to postpone the league clash with St Mirren in Paisley on Sunday, August 24.
But earlier on Tuesday, the Ibrox giants confirmed that they have now withdrawn that appeal, with the Gers happy to make the trip to Paisley in between the vital showdowns with Brugge.
The winner of the two ties could land a £40million jackpot in the promise land of the Champions League, which was revamped into an eight-game league format from the traditional group stage formula at the start of last season.
Rangers and Brugge have already met this season, with the Scots coming back from 2-0 down to claim a share of the spoils in a friendly encounter at Ibrox last month.
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