It was a little bit short – Rangers 2022.

Zvezda took the first place in the group after an outstandingly played group stage, and thanks to that, our boys went directly to the 16 best teams of the Europa League. The red and whites had in front of them a very difficult and well-known opponent - Glasgow Rangers.

The first match was played on March 10, 2022 in Scotland, and Dejan Stanković's team played very well, and in the third minute Katai hit the net, but the goal was disallowed due to the previous offside. In the 10th minute, the home team took the lead from the penalty spot, through Tavernier, after an intervention from the VAR room. Our boys did not give up after the conceded goal, but the new goal of Katai was canceled due to offside. Rangers uses the confusion in our ranks, so in the 15th minute of the match, they double their lead. Zvezda's new chance to score was in the 23rd minute when a penalty was awarded to Ivanić, but Katai, who had been in good spirits until then, missed it.

The boys, regardless of everything that happened, continued to fight for their coat of arms with full steam. By the end of the half, Ohi had two great chances, but it was as if the rival's net was bewitched.

At the beginning of the second part of the game, our players lost concentration, which is quite normal after a very bizarre first half. Balogan scored a goal in the 51st minute and gave his team a convincing 3:0 advantage. Probably a lot of star players remember the 72nd minute and the terrible shot by Kanga, when we all saw that ball in the goal, but it hit the crossbar and confirmed that the red and whites were unlucky in the first match. Ivanić had one more chance until the end of the game to make things a little easier before the rematch, but Zvezda simply wasn't destined to score that night.

Despite the bad result from Scotland, there was great euphoria before the rematch in Belgrade. It started great for our team, in the 10th minute Mirko Ivanić shook the net, after an excellent cross from Kanga, and brought Zvezda back to life. After that goal, our players dominated the entire field and created countless chances, which unfortunately they failed to realize.

Crvena zvezda had nothing to lose anymore, they went with all their strength towards the guests' goal, carried away by the superb atmosphere in the stadium. The famous chance that Ohi and Pavkov did not use is surely still a painful thought for all star players. Due to the great desire for a goal, there was a lot of space left for the Rangers team, and in the 56th minute, they broke out a counter attack by the visitors, which was used by Kent and crushed the dreams of going further. Our players seemed mentally broken after the Scot's goal, but they tried in any way to get the most out of the game. Our team created more great opportunities, but without a real solution. The fight paid off in stoppage time, when the main referee pointed to the white spot. El Fardu Ben was cool and scored a goal for the final 2:1.

After the elimination of our club, the Rangers team made it all the way to the final of this competition, where they were defeated by Eintracht. The red and whites narrowly missed going through instead of the Scots, luck played against us and we didn't manage to recover from it that quickly. Crvena zvezda showed in the 2021/2022 season how fast it is progressing as a club and that it does not intend to stop that trend. Maybe luck will return this season in the Champions League.