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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
National
Mark Walker

Rangers sent Club Brugge warning ahead of UCL play-off

Club Brugge skipper Hans Vanaken reckons their Champions League showdown with Rangers will be the same level of challenge as playing against Celtic last season.

And the Belgian international reckons both sides can forget about their friendly at Ibrox last month.

Rangers face the Belgian cracks for a place in the league stages of the lucrative Champions League.

Club Brugge produced a stunning comeback from two goals down to eliminate RB Salzburg at home.

Vanaken was the hero by scoring the winning goal three minutes into injury time to seal a 3-2 win.

But Vanaken reckons they have to take their games to new levels to see off Russell Martin's side, who won through despite a 2-1 loss to Viktoria Plzen.

He said: "I think it will be a similar match to the one against Celtic last season, where we drew 1-1 in Glasgow.

"That worked out well for us then, although we'll have to raise our game against Rangers.

"I know we played at Ibrox in a pre-season friendly, but I don't think you can compare it.

"The atmosphere in their stadium will be fantastic; that's no secret. We'll have to handle that."


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And he's pinpointed his club's danger man - former Manchester City and Ajax winger Carlos Forbs.

He added: "I think we all know his qualities.

"He's incredibly fast and has great movement. He can play both on the left and right wings, which is practically impossible to defend.

"He's a real weapon for us."

Forbs has already targeted getting past Rangers to reach the riches of the Champions League.

He said: "We have a couple of tough games ahead against Rangers.

"I still have to improve physically too, I think.

"My dream is to play in the Champions League here.

"Club Brugge are the biggest team in Belgium. I had plenty of offers to go elsewhere this summer, but once they asked, it was an easy decision to sign here."

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