Rangers crave revenge against Union: ‘At Ibrox stadium anything is possible’

Unionists be warned: Rangers await them with a strong sense of revenge between their teeth. After the 2-0 defeat of the first leg that the Scottish vice-champion did not see coming, Giovanni Van Bronckhorst and his players know that they can completely reverse the trend this Tuesday evening, in a third preliminary round second leg that they dream of transforming into a “remontada”.

It must be said that this team has experience in these situations. If she reached the final of the Europa League 2022, it is also because she knew how to turn things around at Ibrox. In the quarter-finals, first, by winning 3-1 in extra time after losing 1-0 at Braga. Then in half, then. After another 1-0 loss in Leipzig, the team of the former Barça midfielder beat the Germans 3-1 at Ibrox in the return. Each time in a full enclosure and in a big atmosphere.

“Yes, the role of our supporters this Tuesday will be important,” said Giovanni Van Bronchorst. “He always is when you play at home; the atmosphere is fantastic and I’m sure it will be the same against Union.” English midfielder John Lundstram agrees: “We have to use the atmosphere at Ibrox to get a big game out and if the opponents had a hard time getting used to it, so much the better. I can’t wait for this game return arrives to reverse the situation and put things back to the point”, he assures, in a determined tone.

Big start to the match

The Union could well suffer a big storm at the start of the match and they will have to manage this initial pressure, let the storm pass and hurt in turn, especially as spaces could open up for the Belgian forwards. “We want to make a big start to the match,” continues Van Bronckhorst. “But we will have to remain balanced, organized because the Union is very good at transitions. Anyway, we will have to show a different face than that of the first leg, where we had not reached our usual level. Otherwise, we will not have the chance to be in the next round.”

Because the pressure is great, in Glasgow, to find the Champions League chickens who have been fleeing the Scots since 2010. “Yes, we have wanted to join these chickens for a few seasons,” replies Lundstram. “Fans, players: the whole club wants that. There will be regrets if we were eliminated on Tuesday, but I don’t want to think about that now.”

With Morelos… and Kent?

Unlike the first leg, the Rangers can count on their star striker, the Colombian Morelos, back from a long injury and who scored directly in the league on Saturday. The English winger Ryan Kent should also be included in the selection and is an additional offensive weapon of choice for Van Bronckhorst. Suffice to say that on the Scottish side, the dream scenario is already written. It is up to the Union to respond and continue to surprise its adversaries.