Paul Gascoigne’s sensational solo goal couldn’t keep Rangers in Europe the last time Steaua Bucharest were at Ibrox.
Neil Murray suspects it’ll be as good as over for Gers once again if they fail to roll over the Romanians. Murray featured as the club now known as FCSB notched a comeback 1-1 draw in November 1995. Walter Smith’s men were given hope by some Gazza genius but Adrian ‘The Cobra’ Ilie bit back and both Juventus and Borussia Dortmund advanced from that Champions League section.
With a Europa League group that looks every bit as taxing as that draw two decades ago, Murray fears Philippe Clement ’s men face a must-win scenario following their 4-1 home defeat to Lyon. The Light Blues treble winner said: “Rangers can do it against Bucharest. And they might have to because Manchester United, Tottenham, Nice and Olympiacos are different beasts.
“If you were looking at those clubs fielding full strength teams in the competition, then Rangers would have an uphill task winning. It’s imperative for Rangers to do well in their home games – and this one is winnable. Rangers got a great result in Malmo to set them on their way. This is another opportunity to go out and collect three points and give themselves a fighting chance.”
Rangers approached the visit of Steaua 29 years ago on the back of two group stage humblings. A rampant Juventus side tore the Scottish champs apart 4-1 in Turin and 4-0 in Govan.
Gazza’s gleeful 60-yard run and finish offered a glimmer of hope but Ilie, then 21, grabbed a point. Murray admits assistant boss Archie Knox flagged up the dangerman who put a dagger to Gers’ dreams.
He recalled: “The thing about Ilie is that Archie raved about Ilie, said he was some player. Steaua had a good team and a lot of their players moved on to bigger leagues.
“It was a difficult enough group. Rangers and Steaua were pretty well-matched, Dortmund and Juventus were on a different level. We did well in certain spells in games but then you can get picked off by extra bits of quality.”
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