Only Ajax have a better record than Rangers in UEFA competitions over the past five years.
The Ibrox club have outperformed just about all of Europe’s football royalty to sit second in the overall UEFA country rankings. The time period of course includes their run to the 2022 Europa League Final, while their season-on-season results (aside from the disastrous 2022/23 Champions League campaign) have seen them rack up a score of 16.825 points.
That puts them ahead of Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus. Celtic make the top 20 with a score of 11.700, ahead of the likes of Atletico Madrid, RB Leipzig, Roma, Dortmund, Tottenham and Arsenal. Gers aren’t the only club from a traditionally smaller nation to gatecrash the top five, however.
Dinamo Zagreb sit fourth in what should be a warning to Brendan Rodgers and his players. The Croats play Celtic in the Champions League next as they both eye a spot in the playoff rounds and their recent record shows they know how to get results on the continent and the point Celtic need can’t be taken for granted when they go head-to-head.
As for Philippe Clement’s side, they are all but guaranteed their place in the next phase of the Europa League. A stunning 4-1 win away to Nice on Thursday night leaves them sitting eighth in the table ahead of two blockbuster clashes against Tottenham (ninth) and Manchester United (12th).