A bad night for the Gers.
Celtic hero Chris Sutton has mocked the Bhoys’ bitter rivals Rangers following their Champions League defeat to Belgian side Royale Union SG.
Giovanni von Bronckhorst’s side lost 2-0, leaving their Champions League group stage hopes already on the brink of collapse.
A goal in either half from Teddy Tuema and Dante Vanzeir now means the battered Europa League finalists must close a big deficit at Ibrox next week to avoid a swift return to Europe’s secondary competition.
“Not a great evening for the coefficient…”
However, just minutes after full time, Sutton saw the fun side of the loss with a pointed gag. “Not a good evening for the coefficient,” he said. wrote on social media after the game.
Not a good night for the coefficient.
—Chris Sutton (@chris_sutton73) August 2, 2022
Last season, Rangers’ unlikely Europa League run to the final saw them lead Scotland’s drop coefficient to a much more respectable level than in previous years.
However, this latest defeat against the Champions League newcomers is likely to deal a considerable blow to them. If they fail to overturn the 2-0 deficit, Rangers will advance to the Europa League play-off round.
Meanwhile, after Celtic won the league title last season, Ange Postecoglou’s side are guaranteed to play Champions League group stage football this season.
Last season, the Bhoys played in the Europa League group stages and came third to reach the Europa League Conference Round of 16.
Rangers disappointment.
However, for Rangers, they must now bounce back as soon as possible to reach the Champions League play-off round.
With no away goals in play for the tie, they remain in the competition, but will be aware they need to produce one of their great European nights to retain their place in the competition.
FULL TIME: Royal Union Saint-Gilloise 2-0 Rangers
Not our night in Belgium. Return to Ibrox next Tuesday for the second leg. pic.twitter.com/VHXysyMk9h
– Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) August 2, 2022
“We’re still tied,” Von Bronckhorst said after last night’s game. “A 2-0 difference.
“We are capable of making up for that at Ibrox on Tuesday but we have to focus on our performance first and if we have the same performance we have no chance next week.”
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