Nico Raskin on Thursday headed the opening goal and Vaclav Cerny slotted a second as Rangers raised their game to beat Royale Union Saint-Gilloise 2-1 in Glasgow and go straight through to the UEFA Europa League last 16.
Belgian midfielder Raskin’s first goal of the season broke the ice in the 20th minute at Ibrox and Cerny calmly doubled the tally in the 55th minute as Rangers moved from 13th to eighth on goal-difference.
The visitors, who pulled a goal back through Kevin Mac Allister in the 83rd minute and had a potential Franjo Ivanovic equalizer ruled out for offside after a video assistant referee check, progressed to the playoffs in 21st place.
Photo: AFP
Union had started the evening 15th, level on points with Rangers.
“It’s a massive achievement for the whole squad,” Rangers head coach Philippe Clement told TNT Sports. “Massive clubs with massive budgets have finished behind us, and around us, the achievement is only bigger by beating four of the seven top teams. Maybe we don’t have the talent of other teams, but it’s about mentality. The belief was there from the first day, but it’s about digging in and giving everything we have.”
Rangers, well adrift of archrivals Celtic in the Scottish Premiership, could have been 2-0 up just before halftime when Cyriel Dessers had the ball in the back of the net, but the effort was ruled out for offside.
The 2022 Europa League finalists soaked up plenty of pressure in the second half, with Kevin Rodriguez and Ross Sykes squandering late chances for the visitors, who suffered only their second defeat in 19 matches in all competitions.
The automatic qualification for the knockout stages, on 14 points and ahead of Bodo/Glimt, RSC Anderlecht and FCSB on goal-difference, saved Rangers from a two-legged playoff.
Rangers had to substitute fullback Leon King in the 19th minute after a blow to the head.
“We conceded a goal which we know as a team we should do a lot better. It made it closer,” Rangers captain James Tavernier said of the late effort by Mac Allister, older brother of Liverpool’s Argentine midfielder Alexis. “We sneaked into the top eight. We didn’t have a clue until the end.”
Rangers next face Bodo/Glimt, Anderlecht, Twente or Fenerbahce when they return to European action next month.
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
LONG TIME COMING: With the addition of Marcus Smart, the Washington Wizards finally held a team to under 100 points, the last team this season to do so The Detroit Pistons on Monday won their seventh straight game in the NBA with in-form Cade Cunningham making 32 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a 106-97 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. The Pistons, who are in the playoff position, moved to 32-26, their best record at this stage of a season for 17 years. It was an all-round effort from Detroit with Tobias Harris adding 20 points and Jalen Duren making 19 rebounds along with his 12 points. It was a tight contest until Detroit pulled away late in the third quarter to tie their longest winning streak since the 2014-2015
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
RSS