Can Rangers' Last-Minute Equaliser Help Them Earn Champions League Qualification

Can Rangers' Last-Minute Equaliser Help Them Earn Champions League Qualification

The money teams can earn from the Champions League can make all the difference when it comes to strengthening their team and retaining their top talent. Scotland’s Rangers faced a daunting task in their first qualifying fixture against a strong Dynamo Kyiv team.

Despite being the home side, Kyiv were forced to play their fixture at the Arena Lublin in Poland due to the continued war in the Ukraine. They were the even-money favorites, with Rangers seen as the 2/1 outsider for many bookmakers. Both teams are extremely long shots to win the trophy outright and are both between 250/1 and 500/1 at the top no-verification betting sites, where players can easily sign up and place a bet without sharing their data.

Kyiv Would have been a step closer if not for some late drama that saw Rangers earn a great draw.

Dynamo Kyiv 1 - 1 Rangers

Phillipe Clement is currently in the process of a rebuilding job with the Ibrox club, and their opening game of the season saw them held to a 0-0 draw away to Hearts.

The Ibrox faithful have shown some concern at the lack of transfer activity after losing big-name players like Borna Barisic, John Lundstrum, and Kemar Roofe.

It would have been easy for heads to drop after Andriy Yarmolenko put Dynamo Kyiv ahead after 37 minutes, but Rangers continued to fight and got their reward in the dying seconds.

New loan signing Vaclav Cerny came off the bench to provide a killer cross for much-maligned forward Cyriel Dessers to poke the ball home in the 4th minute of added time.

The result looked fair after a hard-fought battle that saw Kyiv having a goal ruled out for offside and Rangers' young winger Ross McCausland hitting the post.

The Return Fixture

Like Kyiv, Rangers are being forced to play their home fixtures away from their ground, but for very different reasons. Construction delays on Rangers’ ground improvements have forced them to move their home fixtures to Hampden Park. However, this is not as big an upheaval that Kyiv faced and fans will just have to travel across Glasgow instead.

The match will take place at 7.45 pm on Tuesday, August 13th and Rangers fans will be hopeful that their home game against Motherwell on Saturday will not result in any injury scares. 

Connor Barron was the only new signing to make the starting 11 against Dynamo Kyiv, although it could be argued that Mohamed Diomande’s permanent contract after last season’s loan qualifies him as well.

Other new signings including Robin Propper, Jefte, and Cerny all made the bench, with Jefte and Cerny coming on in the second half. With a week’s worth of training and another game in between, these players should be pushing for a first-team start if their fitness improves.

Potential Opponents in the Next Round

The winners of this round will go on to face either FC Twente of the Netherlands or Austria's Red Bull Salzburg. As with any fixture at this level of European competition, it will be tough, but not impossible for Rangers to progress.

Red Bull Salzburg has enjoyed a dominant period of Austrian football, and last season was the first in ten years since they won the title. Despite this, they had the league's top scorer Karim Konate who will be a huge threat.

Rangers will know all about FC Twente after signing their captain and center back Robin Propper. However, it could be former Rangers outcast Sam Lammers who returned to the Netherlands and could have the last laugh after a great season on loan at Utrecht last year.

Conclusion

This season sees the Champions League start its new format of one large league. This will see teams play 8 games instead of the usual 6 and Rangers will be desperate to be a part of it.

The money is a huge motivating factor for the Scottish club that has seen its ability to compete in the transfer market with Europe's elite diminish in recent years.

Fans will already be searching online sportsbooks and crypto gambling sites for next week's odds and will be hopeful of making the most of home advantage.

It might feel like the season’s start has come just a bit early for the Glasgow giants, with Clement still hoping to add a few key players. He will be hopeful that his team is still in Europe when he finally does.