Rangers beat Braga 1-0 in the Europa League on Wednesday.
Rangers boss Steven Gerrard has played talk of a Europa League last 16 clash with Celtic with a straight bat after beating Braga on Wednesday.
The Gers headed to Portugal with a slim 3-2 lead from the first leg, having pulled off a ridiculous comeback from 2-0 down to win the game at Ibrox.
With Alfredo Morelos out and patchy league form, some still thought Rangers would struggle in the away leg, and Ianis Hagi’s saved penalty in the first half seemed like a big missed opportunity.
However, Ryan Kent’s second half goal handed Rangers a 1-0 win, meaning they advance to the last 16 with a 4-2 aggregate win.
With the rest of the competition taking place tonight, Rangers are the first side through to the last 16, and Gerrard can at least sit back and watch tonight’s action unfold.
Come Friday, Rangers will learn their last 16 opponents, and there is of course a chance that the draw throws up a clash with Old Firm rivals Celtic.
Celtic take on Copenhagen in the second leg of their last 32 clash tonight, and appear to be in pole position to advance having claimed a 1-1 draw in Denmark last week.
As seen on Rangers TV, Gerrard was asked about the prospect of meeting Celtic in the next round, but played down the possibility and just wanted to celebrate the win over Braga rather than think about the Bhoys, merely suggesting that Rangers will be ready whoever they face.
“Tonight is about enjoying the win against Braga,” said Gerrard. “We will really look forward to the draw on Friday and we’ll be proud sitting there whoever we come up against, and we’ll be ready for the next challenge,” he added.
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