Rangers FC played against FC Dynamo Kyiv for their UEFA Champions League third round qualifier at Hampden Park tonight. After a cagey first half, Dynamo Kiev scored twice in two minutes in the final stages. The 0-2 loss (3-1 on aggregate) means Rangers will play UEFA Europa League football this season.
The Glaswegians went into the game with a 1-1 draw from the first leg. It meant anything less than a win would not have been enough for either side to progress to the play-off round.
The game started cagey with few chances. Ross McCausland was sent deep in the second quarter of the game, producing a shot on target from the edge of the box. The strike lacked power and resulted in an easy save for the Kyiv goalkeeper Georgiy Bushchan. It was the first real chance at goal of the game.
Early in the second half Rangers suffered a huge blow when Jefté Vital da Silva Dias got sent off after receiving his second yellow. With a man down Dynamo built up the pressure in the final third. But to the relief of the fans in Hampden Park the Ukrainians missed several chances in front of goal.
In the 81th minute Dynamo broke the deadlock after another wave of Ukrainian pressure. The ball was received by Oleksandr Pikhalyonok on the edge of the Rangers box, who cut inside and fired a powerful strike in the bottom right of the net, outside the grasp of Jack Butland. 0-1 Dynamo.
Moments later all hope of a quick comeback vanished after another quick Dynamo breakout, which got followed by a brilliant cutback onto Nazar Voloshyn. The 21-year old winger produced a first time strike at goal that whistled underneath the grasp of Jack Butland, taking the score to 0-2.
The loss means Rangers FC will move onto the UEFA Europa League and will miss out on the tens of millions of pounds the UEFA Champions League football would have landed. FC Dynamo Kyiv will have to face one more hurdle to reach the UEFA Champions League group stage, facing RB Salzburg in the final play-off round. RB Salzburg won their UEFA Champions League third round qualifier against FC Twente 5-4 on aggregate.
Rangers at their current level belong in the Europa League. They barely got away with a draw first leg and did not have enough quality to make things difficult for Dynamo. It’s a big loss for Scottish football, but realistically Rangers is an average or below average Europa League side right now. With some luck they can have a good spell in Europe this season against opponents they stand a chance against.
Agreed. Already if you compare Rangers to Celtic the difference in quality is stark right now. Imagine when you compare Rangers to the likes of FC Barcelona or even Girona. Europa League football will be a good podium for Rangers this season.