Big news for Rangers fans—the path to the Champions League just got a little clearer. Greg Taylor's PAOK delivered a crucial 3-1 win over Greek rivals Olympiakos on Sunday, shaking up the race for Europe's top club competition.
That defeat leaves Olympiakos, the reigning Greek champions, six points behind leaders AEK Athens with only three games left. And here's where it gets interesting for Rangers: they're now the favorites to snag the final automatic qualifying spot for next season's Champions League league stage. But there's a catch—they need to win the Scottish Premiership first.
Currently sitting third in the Scottish standings, Danny Rohl's side trail leaders Hearts by four points, with Celtic just ahead of them. With four matches remaining, including a crucial visit to Hearts this Sunday, every point will matter.
So why does this Greek result matter so much? It's all about the European club coefficient list. The extra automatic Champions League place opens up because all four semi-finalists in this season's competition—Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid—have already qualified through their domestic leagues. That spot goes to the next highest-ranked club in the coefficient standings, and Olympiakos had been leading that list ahead of Rangers and Shakhtar Donetsk. Now, with Olympiakos slipping, Rangers are in pole position.
But they'll need to watch their backs. Shakhtar Donetsk, the Ukrainian league leaders, are just three points behind Rangers in the coefficient race and still have a shot at the Conference League semi-finals. They trail Crystal Palace 3-0 after the first leg, but a win could earn them valuable points—two for a victory, one for a draw, plus an extra half-point for advancing a round.
On the pitch in Greece, former Celtic left-back Greg Taylor was an unused substitute for PAOK, who bounced back from last week's Greek Cup final loss to OFI Crete. Their win lifted them above Olympiakos into second place on goal difference in the title play-off stage. Meanwhile, former Hearts left-back James Penrice came on as a half-time substitute for AEK Athens, who held fourth-placed Panathinaikos to a 0-0 draw—despite the hosts playing with 10 men after Javi Hernandez's early red card.
For Rangers, the equation is simple: win the Scottish title, and the Champions League group stage could be theirs. Every game from here on out is a cup final.