Back to Belgium: Rangers to face Royal Antwerp in Europa League knock-out phase

The knock-out stage draw took place at lunchtime in Switzerland and Portuguese international Maniche paired Steven Gerrard’s side with a return to the Lowlands after a 2-0 win in Liege against Standard in the group stage and a preliminary round win over Willem II in Holland earlier this season. Now Royal Antwerp, who hold an almost identical league record as the vanquished Liege side with 25 points from 16 games, but sit one place better off in the Belgian Jupiler League with a single goal difference advantage, lie in wait next year. Tottenham were defeated by the Belgians in an off-night for Jose Mourinho’s side during the group stage so there is cautious warnings to be heeded for Steven Gerrard’s team. However it will still be viewed as a favourable draw for the unbeaten SPFL Premiership league leaders – aided by seeding in this afternoon’s draw – who avoided La Liga leaders Real Sociedad, big spending RB Salzburg and significant travel distance with the likes of Dynamo Kiev in Ukraine and FK Krasnador of Russia among the potential opponents. As it stood, Steven Gerrard’s side couldn’t have organised a much closer trip from the options available. The two-legged knock-out matches, to be played in February, come after an excellent group stage for the Ibrox side where they topped a section including Benfica, Lech Poznan and Liege to be seeded for today’s draw, and Antwerp will hold little fear and cautious optimism for an unbeaten side which has conceded just 12 times in 27 games this season. Seven of those concessions came in the impressive group showing during which Rangers ended Standard’s six year home run without defeat in European competition and Kemar Roofe’s wonder-goal from the halfway line. This is Antwerp’s longest European participation since the Grand Old reached the Cup Winners’ Cup final against Parma in 1993. Rangers met SC Braga at this stage of the competition last season before running into the might of Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16. Both last season’s opponents are still involved in this season’s competition but first Antwerp, and veteran pair – 35-year-old Congolese striker Dieumerci Mbokani and Israeli playmaker Lior Refaelov are on the agenda for Steven Gerrard’s team. The games fall on February 18 and the following week, some 64 days away. With Rangers topping the domestic league, the double-header comes 12 league games and potentially three cup games away too, so continental ambitions will certainly be shelved for the time being and the busy festive fixture schedule. Other notable ties included a meeting between two of David Moyes’ former clubs – Real Sociedad and Manchester United. Arsenal will also face runners-up in Rangers’ group Benfica and AC Milan meet Red Star Belgrade. A message from the Editor:Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.