We should be in last eight - Lovenkrands
Peter Lovenkrands insists it should have been Rangers celebrating a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League instead of Villarreal.
The Ibrox club’s epic European adventure finally came to an end last night despite a brave and battling display at El Madrigal.
The Scottish champions had all but been written off ahead of the trip to Spain, after Villarreal left Glasgow with a 2-2 draw from the first leg at Ibrox a fortnight ago.
But it was Lovenkrands – the sole striker in place of the suspended Dado Prso - who gave Rangers the belief that they could go even further in the Champions League.
The Danish forward gave them the best possible start to the game when he grabbed the opener with just 12 minutes on the clock – but a Rodolfo Arruabarrena leveller four minutes into the second half shattered their hopes.
Even so, it was an excellent display against a side who had conceded just one goal in the group stages of the competition – in a section which also included Manchester United, Benfica and Lille – and who had not lost at home since the defeat to Barcelona back in December.
And Lovenkrands reckons it was the wrong team who emerged triumphant from the last 16 clash.
He said: “The general feeling is we deserved more. We were the better team in the first half and we hoped that we could hold on for the win but it wasn’t to be.”
Despite an official allocation of just 3,000 away tickets, an estimated 15,000 Rangers fans made the trip to Spain in the hope of witnessing one of the biggest games in the club’s histoy.
Thousands managed to get their hands on tickets for the sections of the stadium occupying the home fans and the streets of Villarreal were transformed into a sea of blue jerseys ahead of the game.
Lovenkrands admits the entire dressing room was disconsolate at the thought of letting down so many people.
He added: “The fans were outstanding. I have never seen anything like it when we came down the road.
“They were tremendous and I could not give them any more credit.
“Unfortunately we could not pull it off for them.”
Now that Rangers have had a taste of European success, they are desperate to take part in the Champions League next year but that means catching second-placed Hearts in the Bank of Scotland Premier League.
And, now that European football is over for this season, Lovenkrands insists they can now turn their attention to clawing back the eight-point gap that separates the two sides.
He said: “If we want to play in the Champions League again next year then we have to catch Hearts and it can still be done.”
Whether Lovenkrands will still be a Rangers player next season remains to be seen.
He has held contract talks with the club and is hopeful they can thrash out a suitable deal that will keep him at Ibrox beyond the summer.
He said: “I have always said that I want to stay at Rangers and nothing has changed. I love the club and I love life here.”
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