Rangers given UEFA boost amid Champions League tightrope, Celtic looking for favours

Rangers given UEFA boost amid Champions League tightrope, Celtic looking for favours

Much has been made of Rangers European record in recent years aside from an injury affected “blip” in the Champions League last season.

One could argue that our present place of 25 among the top teams on the continent,

which could keep us safe and leave Celtic on the outside looking in,

is more of Steven Gerrard’s legacy than his number 55.

Naturally, there are limitations to these circumstances,

and Rangers’ predicament has been made more difficult after a European match ended in a penalty shootout that may have an impact on our chances of qualifying for the Champions League in 2025–2026.

Champions League award handed to Rangers for their European form
Currently, Scotland is rated 10th overall on the UEFA coefficient list,

with the Czech Republic coming in at number 11.

Unfortunately, they have now narrowed the difference to just 0.5 because every other Scottish club in Europe has been losing every year.

All it would take is one successful outcome to surpass us.

Things were tight going into Rangers’ match against three Czech clubs Friday night at Ibrox,

thanks to Viktoria Plzen’s penalty-taking victory that advanced them to the Europa Conference League quarterfinals.

If they draw either of their next two matches against Fiorentina, they will slide to eleventh place.

This is when things become tricky.

Rangers’ situation is different because, for once,

UEFA is rewarding us due to our recent performance.

We would still qualify for the Champions championship’s redesigned group stage even if we win the

championship the next season (2024–25) under new manager Philippe Clement of the Germans.

Celtic would no longer be able to profit from our success in European competition and would have to compete in qualifications if they were to win the league.

Because of the new UEFA tournament format,

it’s unclear what this means in terms of safety nets and qualifying for the Europa League,

but it’s comforting to know that, should Plzen gain additional points, all is not lost.