Rangers, Next Challenge for Athletic on Their Path to Bilbao Final

Athletic Club travels to Glasgow to face Rangers in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final. The Scottish team has suffered five consecutive defeats at home and is not in its best form. Meanwhile, the Basques aspire to secure a European title for the first time. With the final set to take place at San Mamés, the Lions have two steps left to reach the dream match for the title at their stadium.

The first obstacle is the inconsistent Rangers, 13 points behind Celtic, who lead the Scottish championship. In the Scottish Cup, they were eliminated in the last 16 by a second-tier team. This situation led to a recent managerial change, with Barry Ferguson taking over as coach on February 26. In this new phase, Rangers have played three matches at Ibrox Stadium, all resulting in defeats. Adding the two home losses under the previous manager, Rangers have now suffered five consecutive home defeats, creating a sense of unease.

Athletic is the favourite, but Ernesto Valverde's team has not been very effective away from home, and the tie is unlikely to be decided until the return leg at San Mamés. This year, the red-and-white team has played nine away matches, winning only two.

In fact, in the last 16 tie, the Basque team lost 2-1 at Roma's ground and had to rely on a heroic comeback at their stadium. Txingurri will not want a repeat of this and aims to secure a favourable result in this first quarter-final clash.

In this edition of the Europa League, Athletic has been a much more solid team. They finished second in the league phase, earning a direct spot in the last 16, where they eliminated a tough opponent like Roma, while Rangers went through the penalty shootout against Mourinho's Fenerbahçe.

Rangers were runners-up in this competition in 2008 and more recently in 2022, when they lost the final to Eintracht Frankfurt. Since then, they have struggled to find their way in Europe and aim to reach the semi-finals again three years later. Athletic also lost two finals in this competition, against Juventus in 1977 and Atlético Madrid in 2012. Since 2016, Athletic had not reached the quarter-finals and now seeks to extend their European dream.

Rangers and Athletic have only faced each other twice in history, both in the quarter-final tie of the 1968-69 UEFA Cup campaign. The Scottish side eliminated the red-and-whites after narrowly holding on at San Mamés (2-0) following a 4-1 first-leg win in Glasgow. Athletic nearly achieved the feat in the return match but paid the price for their away defeat, a precedent that highlights the crucial importance of the first leg for their aspirations.

Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Sterling, Balogun, Jefté, Raskin, Barron, Cerný, Lawrence, Hagi, and Igamane.

Athletic: Agirrezabala, Gorosobel, Vivian, Paredes, Yuri, Jauregizar, Beñat Prados, Iñaki Williams, Unai Gómez, Nico Williams, and Guruzeta.

Referee: Istvan Kovacs (Romania).

Stadium: Ibrox Stadium.

Time and TV: 21:00 h. Movistar Liga de Campeones.