Doomsday Dortmund
Gio arrived with a season on the brink but party v Sparta lit Blue touchpaper for glory nights against German giants
STEVEN GERRARD’S sudden departure had rocked Ibrox to its roots and Gio van Bronckhorst’s immediate priority was to bring a sense of order and stability to an extremely volatile situation.
Make no mistake, Rangers’ season was in danger of imploding. He took over on November 22, just 24 hours after watching from the posh seats at Hampden as Hibs battered the Ibrox outfit by going 3-0 up in 30 minutes before winning the League Cup semi-final 3-1.
The team looked rudderless, leaderless, and van Bronckhorst took his first training session just 48 hours before Rangers were due to host Sparta Prague on matchday five of the Europa League.
Despite losing the first two games in their group, results elsewhere – in effect Lyon’s running away with it – meant a two-goal win for the Scots would put them through to the knockout stages. They’d be three points clear of the Czechs with one game to go and with a better head to head. But could van Bronckhorst get their heads in the right place?
Fifty thousand turned up at Ibrox and were given the answer they craved.
Right from the off, Rangers dominated and Alfredo Morelos’ goal after good work from Ianis Hagi sent them on their way. Another goal was needed and the Colombian obliged after an horrendous defensive mistake – although Rangers still had Allan McGregor to thank for an outrageous double save that denied Sparta the goal that would have levelled up the head to head.
Rangers had made it through with a game to spare and van Bronckhorst said: “We had everything tonight. From the first minute we were in the game, we were pressing them, we were having a good rhythm of play and creating chances.
“We created enough in the first half to win the game. So I was very proud of the guys.”
In Lyon Rangers went looking for a result that would continue to bolster their belief in the new man at the helm.
And they got it in the shape of a deserved 1-1 draw, fashioning the lead through a deflected Scott Wright shot before relinquishing it unluckily when Calvin Bassey unwittingly jabbed a cross past Jon McLaughlin, who made a fine save in injury time to maintain Rangers’ unbeaten run under the boss.
“I’m very happy with the message we showed,” van Bronckhorst said. “It’s only my fifth game in charge, I’m happy they’re picking up my style of play. We played our possession game from the back and many times we had the right solutions.” The result meant Rangers finished a point above Sparta Prague and went into the draw for the Europa League play-off round where they’d be paired with one of eight Champions League drop-outs. In truth, Rangers would have been second favourites against most of them and that was the case when they were paired with Borussia Dortmund. What followed will be regarded as one of THE great European performances as they dismantled the second-best team in Germany 4-2 on their own patch. With Ryan Kent in scintillating form, James Tavernier put Gers ahead from the spot after VAR spotted a handball, followed by Morelos doubling the advantage.
They continued to be in dreamland in Deutschland when John Lundstram finished a terrific move with a stunning drive from the edge of the box.
Although Borussia pulled one back, a Morelos shot that cannoned off Dan-Axel Zagadou – and was originally ruled offside before VAR got it right for the second time in the match – restored the cushion.
Dortmund gave themselves a glimmer of hope with a late second goal but this was a result that stunned Europe and put Rangers in the driving seat.
“It’s a very good result for us against a big team in Europe,” was van Bronchorst’s assessment. “We wanted to take a result back with us to Glasgow for a good game next week. I think we achieved that with the two-goal difference.”
It set up a blockbuster at Ibrox a week later; the stadium packed and bouncing and the capacity crowd a frenzied cocktail of euphoria and fear, because this was now a tie that should have been won but could still have been lost.
A Tavernier penalty after Kent was tripped put Rangers three up in the tie but Borussia came roaring back to grab the lead on the night.
During the break, van Bronckhorst conjured up a tactical tweak that was to prove crucial, moving Lundstram into a back three set-up that offered more protection in front of McGregor and helped stifle the attacking threat of Dortmund.
And when Tavernier added to his burgeoning reputation and goal tally with a back-post finish as the hour mark approached to level the scores on the night at 2-2, this time there was no way back for the German giants and the Rangers support celebrated loud and long into the night.
As he reflected on the glory night, van Bronckhorst admitted: “We trained three different plans for today and this was Plan C! We needed it.
“I knew, with the score in mind, we had to have the scenarios in place to be executed and the guys did really well.”
The Scots were in the last 16 and were daring to dream.