Rangers Have Only Lost 8 Europa League Home Games In 43 Years

Plus a Look at all 29 Scottish Last 16 Ties Over the Last 40 Years

Rangers face Fenerbahçe on Thursday evening at Ibrox Stadium, with an 8pm kick-off live on TNT Sports 2. No Rangers fan will miss the irony that sums up this current Rangers team: they now enter a European match with a full week’s preparation for the first time this season - purely as a result of their most humiliating home loss ever.

Queen’s Park’s 1-0 Scottish Cup victory at Ibrox - marking the first time in Rangers’ history they lost at home in the Scottish Cup to lower-league opposition - meant the Gers had no fixture over the weekend, instead watching on while rivals Celtic advanced to another Semi-Final.

However, with that humiliation comes opportunity. The week given to rest, recover, and prepare - after simply dismantling Mourinho’s men in Turkey - could prove crucial, especially since Fenerbahçe also enjoyed a free weekend. The Turkish delight of a 3-1 (going on 6-1) away victory was truly brilliant, but it doesn’t guarantee progression; a two-goal win for the Turks would take the tie into extra time. It would be foolish to forget that St. Mirren beat Rangers by two goals at Ibrox just weeks ago.

Cyriel Dessers celebrates in the 3-1 first leg victory, he could have had a hat-trick if not for the tight offside decisions

If Rangers lose on Thursday, it would be the first time in their 153-year history that they have lost four consecutive matches at Ibrox. Their domestic season may be over, but they know the rewards of breaking that unwanted streak will ensure a place in the Europa League Quarter-Finals for the second time since 2022. They’ve previously lost three home games on the bounce - but they’ve always won the fourth match:

---

SEQUENCES OF THREE CONSECUTIVE HOME LOSS

In 2025:

1. Lost 0-1 Vs Queen’s Park in the Scottish Cup

2. Lost 0-2 Vs St. Mirren in the league

3. Lost 1-2 Vs Motherwell in the league

4. Thursday: Rangers Vs Fenerbahçe in the Europa League

In 2012:

1. Lost 0-2 Vs Dundee United in the Scottish Cup

2. Lost 0-1 Vs Kilmarnock in the league

3. Lost 1-2 Vs Hearts in the league

4. WON 3-2 Vs Celtic in the league (preventing Celtic from clinching the title at Ibrox)

In 2001:

1. Lost 0-2 Vs Dundee in the league

2. Lost 0-2 Vs Dundee United in the league

3. Lost 0-3 Vs Celtic in the league

4. WON 5-1 Vs Kilmarnock in the league

In 1994:

1. Lost 0-1 Vs AEK Athens in Champions League qualifier

2. Lost 0-2 Vs Celtic in the league

3. Lost 1-2 Vs Falkirk in the League Cup

4. WON 3-0 Vs Hearts in the league

In 1971:

1. Lost 0-3 Vs Celtic in the League Cup

2. Lost 2-3 Vs Celtic in the league

3. Lost 0-2 Vs Aberdeen in the league

4. WON 1-0 Vs Stade Rennais in the Cup Winners’ Cup

In 1957:

1. Lost 2-3 Vs Celtic in the league

2. Lost 2-3 Vs Hearts in the league

3. Lost 3-4 Vs Kilmarnock in the league

4. WON 2-0 Vs Clyde in the league

There were runs of three consecutive domestic Ibrox losses in both 1972 and 1973 - but on both of these occasions, these runs were interrupted by a home win in Europe and so are not included.

A 4th consecutive home loss would undoubtedly go down in Rangers history as a horrific set of results during a tumultuous period. Of course, thanks to their two goal cushion, even a one goal defeat would still spark jubilant celebrations as they’d progress on aggregate, and nobody would care about the significance of the loss!

---

EUROPEAN STATS IN RANGERS’ FAVOUR

The good news for the Rangers fans reading is that the European stats ahead of this match are certainly on their side:

• Rangers have only lost 2 of their last 14 home Europa League games since a 2-0 defeat to Lyon in 2021.

• Fenerbahçe have only won 1 of their past 11 knockout away games (7 losses) since 2013 Europa League (that season was their one & only European Semi Final)

  

  Current Rangers player Mohamed Diomande inflicts a 6-1 Nordsjælland victory on former Rangers player Ryan Kent’s Fenerbahçe in the 23/24 ECL.

• With a two goal first leg lead, Rangers have progressed 96% of the time (24 out of 25 occasions), and it’s a 100% progression rate when bringing a two goal lead back to Ibrox

• The only time they failed to progress with such a lead was in the 1999/00 UEFA Cup, when they lost on penalties to Borussia Dortmund after a 2-2 aggregate draw. Current manager Barry Ferguson and coach Neil McCann both featured in that 2-0 loss in Dortmund, which saw Jens Lehmann save penalties from van Bronckhorst, Numan, and Reyna. Earlier, Lehmann had come up for a last-minute corner, with Rangers winning the tie 2-1, and the future Arsenal keeper set up the equaliser to take the tie to extra time.

  

  Rangers players - including two members of the current coaching team - looking dejected after the penalty kick loss to Dortmund 25 years ago.

• Rangers have never lost at home to Turkish opposition (3 wins + 2 draws)

  

  Rangers captain James Tavernier celebrates scoring the last time a small Turkish team came to Ibrox, a 2-1 Rangers win in the Europa League Playoff.

• Rangers have only lost 8 UEFA Cup/Europa League home games since they made their debut in 1982 against Borussia Dortmund. This graphic details every match over the 43 year span:

RANGERS HOME RECORD IN THE EUROPA LEAGUE