Rangers to face Serbian champions Crvena Zvezda in Europa League last 16

Rangers have been drawn to play Crvena Zvezda in the last 16 of the Europa League.

The Ibrox side were paired with the Serbian champions at UEFA’s draw on Friday and as an unseeded team were guaranteed to face a group winner.

They will now face a trip to Belgrade and have to overcome Dejan Stankovic’s side if they are to reach the quarter-finals.

Crvena Zvezda, often known as Red Star Belgrade, reached the knockout stages by topping a group that included Braga, Midtjylland and Ludogorets Razgrad.

The first leg will be played at Ibrox on March 10, with the return leg in Belgrade a week later.

Rangers reached this stage with a 6-4 win over Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund. Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side recorded a stunning 4-2 win in the first leg in Germany before a thrilling 2-2 draw at Ibrox ensured progress.

The team had previously finished as runners up to Lyon in the group stage, finishing ahead of Sparta Prague and Brondby.

Speaking on Thursday night after knocking out Dortmund, Rangers boss Van Bronckhorst said: “The last 16 is only big teams but the most important thing is we have to have the belief to be able to compete against anyone.

“But we also need two performances, the first one was away which gave us a two-goal lead and today we had another massive performance.

“If you don’t have your night in European football, especially in the last 16, it is going to be very difficult.

“Our aim is to see the draw tomorrow, it is going to be two good nights but as long as we have two good nights again we are able to go through but it is going to be tough.

“Of course if you can beat Dortmund away and you can have a good result at home it has to give you confidence.

“We are facing tough opposition in the next round, it is a good moment to challenge ourselves but we have to get good performances again, that is our goal.”