Football: Rangers cling on to Euro dream

Parma 1 Rangers 0 Rangers win 2-1 on aggregate

RANGERS ARE back mixing with the best in Europe after this battling performance at the Ennio Tardini Stadium last night. Now they go into today's Champions' League draw alongside Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea.

A goal from Johan Walem gave Rangers a desperate last 30 minutes, but their 2-0 advantage from the first leg of this third round qualifier proved to be enough.

As expected the Italians began by putting the Ibrox men under intense pressure. Lionel Charbonnier came to Rangers' rescue, flying across his goal to superbly turn away a 20-yard free-kick from Ariel Ortega. Then the French goalkeeper showed he had lost none of his reflexes after a nine-month absence with a knee injury by making a fingertip save from Diego Fuser's free-kick.

Rangers' first real chance came early in the second half when Parma's goalkeeper, Gianluigi Buffon, had to dive full-length to tip away a header from Rod Wallace. Then Tony Vidmar rattled the woodwork with a stunning left-foot drive from the edge of the box, after a great delivery from Claudio Reyna from the right.

However, Parma found the net at last in the 69th minute after a dreadful error by Charbonnier, who allowed a 20-yard free-kick from Walem to spill out of his hands and trickle over the line. Charbonnier tipped away a header from Saliou Lassissi, then Ortega's fierce shot was blocked inadvertently by his team-mate Hernan Crespo, but Rangers clung on.

Parma: Buffon; Lassissi, Torrisi, Thuram, Fuser, Baggio, Boghossian (Stanic, 64), Vanoli (Serena, 79), Ortega, Crespo, Di Vaio (Walem, 64). Substitutes not used: Micillo (gk), Benarrivo, Breda, Maini.

Rangers: Charbonnier; Porrini, Moore, Amoruso, Vidmar, Reyna, B Ferguson (Albertz, 73), Van Bronckhorst, Adamczuk (Hendry, 83), Wallace (McCann, 60), Mols. Substitutes not used: Niemi (gk), I Ferguson, Johansson, Amato.

Referee: K-E Nilsson (Sweden).