Scottish success no fluke, claim fans

Rangers’ victory over Lyon in the Champions League confirmed that Scottish football is better than French football, according to Rangers Supporters Trust spokesman David Edgar.

In a remarkable night in the Stade Gerland, Walter Smith’s men made it two wins out of two in Group D with goals from Lee McCulloch, Daniel Cousin and DaMarcus Beasley.

The Ibrox side’s first away win in the tournament in seven years came just weeks after Scotland had beaten France 1-0 in Paris to achieve the double over the French in their Euro 2008 qualifiers.

Edgar told PA Sport: “I am stunned at the moment.

“It was surreal, that is the best way to sum it up.

“You would expect Arsenal, Manchester United or Liverpool to go away and get result like that but we were the best team on the park.

“It’s not an easy place to go to. We went there hoping to get maybe a point but to do that to them was incredible.

“After Scotland beating France in Paris last month this was no fluke – you have to accept that Scottish football is better than French football.

“Everything went right on the night, the tactics were perfect and the players were magnificent.

“I was watching the game with a French-speaking friend and he told me that when the draw was made the Lyon supporters were confident.

“We quietened them down after 20 minutes and after half an hour the Lyon fans were moaning – my friend said that had never happened before.”

Rangers face Barcelona home and away in their next two Champions League fixtures.

However, Edgar believes the two wins over Stuttgart and Lyon puts the Ibrox side in a strong position to qualify through to the knockout stages regardless of what happens against the Spanish giants.

He said: “We now have two games against Barcelona coming up and even one point would be a dream.

“But by the time we come to play against Stuttgart and Lyon again, either of those teams could be out of the equation.

“Don’t underestimate what Rangers have done so far. We have beaten the German and French champions, we have scored five goals and conceded only one.

“We would have taken six points from the first four games before the group games began so we can just enjoy these two matches against Barcelona.”