RANGERS are 180 minutes away from matching the heroic status of Walter Smith’s class of 2008 as they go toe-to-toe with tournament favourites RB Leipzig in the semi-finals of the Europa League.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men have defied the odds to come through ties against Borussia Dortmund, Red Star Belgrade and Braga in the knockout stages to stand on the edge of a trip to Seville in next month’s final.
Boasting the dangerous Christopher Nkunku, Domenico Tedesco’s rejuvenated RB Leipzig will certainly pose a stiff challenge for the Ibrox side in Germany in the first leg on Thursday.
The Rangers Review picks out three key areas that could dictate the game’s outcome.
Stifling Christopher Nkunku
The Frenchman boasts 50 goal contributions for RB Leipzig this season, with his brace in the second leg of his side’s Europa League quarter-final victory away to Atalanta moving him onto 30 goals for the campaign already.
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The Frenchman’s blistering pace and composure inside the penalty area has made him an outside contender to lift the Ballon d’Or later this year, and it’s fair to suggest that the Rangers defence have not faced a striker of his quality in the competition so far this year.
Stifling the 24-year-old over the next 180 minutes – and possibly more - will be key to Rangers’ hopes of progression to the final in Seville.
Split striker attacking solution
Injuries to both Alfredo Morelos and Kemar Roofe has left Giovanni van Bronckhorst with an attacking conundrum, although the 3-1 win over Motherwell at the weekend may have thrown up the solution.
The Dutchman made the decision at the interval following Leon Balogun’s red card to split Fashion Sakala and Scott Wright wide from their starting central position and it immediately paid off, with the pair combining to restore Rangers’ advantage.
By pushing Scott Arfield higher to operate as a false nine, Rangers established control of the game on both sides of the ball despite Motherwell boasting a man advantage.
Ryan Kent – who was rested for the trip to Fir Park – will almost certainly occupy one of the wide positions, but it remains to be seen whether Wright or Sakala will complement him on the opposite flank.
Equally, Joe Aribo’s physicality could lend itself to the false nine role occupied by Arfield at the weekend.
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System flexibility
Although van Bronckhorst adopted an aggressive approach in the return leg against Braga in the previous round, it is important to remember what got Rangers to the quarter-final stage in the first place.
The Dutchman has been extremely flexible with his system within games, often switching between a back four and back three depending on the opposition.
Rangers effectively killed the last 16 tie against Red Star Belgrade by moving to a back three after a ropey opening 10 minutes, while they improved considerably after conceding twice in the first half against Borussia Dortmund at Ibrox when van Bronckhorst brought John Lundstram into the heart of a three-man backline.
Against a team who boast the quality of Leipzig, flexibility is going to be key for Rangers as they aim to take a manageable first leg scoreline back to Ibrox next week.
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