Rangers Champions League bid latest: where Ibrox club stand in race with Olympiacos for £40m bounty

While the slaying of the Bulgarians brought the welcome relief of a first group phase win - avoiding the ignominy of a winless campaign - it also removed a monkey from the shoulders of head coach Danny Rohl with a maiden victory in European competition at the fifth attempt.

Financially, the three points also banked an additional £389,000 in prize money, while the Ibrox side moved up two positions to 31st place in the table, with some reputation restored after recent poor results on the continent.

The win was not enough to keep Rangers in contention for qualification for the knockout stages. They had already been eliminated from the competition before kick-off after collecting just one point from their opening six games.

However, the result could carry some huge extra significance towards next season - if Rangers go on to win the Scottish Premiership title this term.

Rangers are currently top of Uefa's club coefficient table in the race for direct entry to next season's Champions League - worth an estimated £40million - for winners of domestic leagues in 2025-26.

It means, as things stand, Rangers would be dining at Uefa’s top table next season if they win the Scottish league - providing the Champions League winners also qualify by finishing in the Champions League spots within their domestic league.

Why Rangers’ status as coefficient top dogs is under threat

Rangers’ position, however, is under threat after Olympiacos moved to within 0.75 points of the Glasgow giants following their victory over Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Two coefficient points are awarded for a victory with one received for a draw and zero for a defeat. Rangers are currently on 59.25 points while Olympiacos are on 58.50 meaning results next week could prove decisive.

If Olympiacos lose their final Champions League group phase match away to Ajax next Wednesday then Rangers need not worry. They will remain ahead of the Greeks regardless of their result in Porto in their final Europa League fixture.

Things become more fraught for Rangers if Olympiacos claim a positive result in Amsterdam. A draw would take them onto 59.50 coefficient points, moving them above Rangers’s current total, meaning the Ibrox side would have to match that result in Portugal to stay ahead while hoping that Olympiacos are also eliminated, with nine points possibly enough to secure a top-24 place in the Champions League.

A victory for the Greek outfit in the Netherlands would be the nightmare scenario for Rangers as it would push their coefficient total to 60.5 and secure their place in the play-off round, opening the door to further coefficient points being secured, meaning even a Rangers victory in Porto might not be enough to keep hold of their coefficient golden goose.

Rangers would move onto 61.25 points with a win next week, but Olympiacos, if they finish 21st or higher in the Champions League table, will have secured enough bonus points to leapfrog Rangers and gain direct entry to next season's Champions League - providing they win the Greek domestic league.

If they beat Ajax and finish 22nd or lower in the Champions League, then Rangers would stay ahead in the coefficient rankings with a win over Porto, and it would depend on Olympiacos' results in the play-off round as to whether they moved above the Glasgow giants or not.

If Rangers and Olympiacos finish on the same coefficient points, then Rangers would retain top spot on the the first tiebreaker as the team with the higher coefficient in the most recent season. Rangers accumulated 19.25 points in the 2024-25 campaign, while Olympiacos earned 18.50 points.

Should Olympiacos be eliminated without overtaking them, then Rangers' attentions would turn to FC Copenhagen and Shakhtar Donetsk with both sides still mathematically able to overtake the Ibrox side this season if they go deep in the Champions League and Conference League respectively.

Copenhagen, however, are currently 4.875 coefficient points behind Rangers and probably need to win away to Barcelona next week to reach the UCL knockout stages. They are also 12 points adrift in the Danish title race with 14 matches remaining so are unlikely challengers. Shakhtar, who are eight coefficient points behind Rangers, perhaps present the bigger challenge, with the Ukrainians already through to the knockout stages of the Conference League. How far they go will determine whether they are a threat to Rangers. They are also currently joint top of the Ukrainian league alongside FC LNZ Cherkasy.

Of course, whether Rangers’ coefficient status will matter at all towards direct Champions League qualification next season is purely hypothetical at this stage. They are currently six points behind Hearts at the top of the Scottish Premiership table and have a lot of work to do both domestically and in Europe next week to ensure their dream scenario comes true.