Lyon v Rangers: Scottish side's remarkable win in France remembered

It has been 14 years since arguably one of the biggest European results by a Scottish side.

Rangers travelled to face a star-studded Lyon in October 2007 for a Champions League group stage encounter as underdogs but pulled off a stunning 3-0 win.

The sides meet for the second time since then - and the first in France - on Thursday in what will be effectively a Europa League dead rubber, with both sides having already confirmed progression from Group A.

Here, BBC Scotland revisits that famous night in France with former Rangers right-back Alan Hutton.

Stuttgart victory builds Rangers belief

The 2007 summer transfer window ended with Lyon losing a number of their prized assets - including Eric Abidal and Florent Malouda, who departed for Barcelona and Chelsea respectively.

But a talented squad featured the likes of Brazilian set-piece master Juninho, Italy full-back Fabio Grosso and a young Karim Benzema.

The Ibrox men had already shown promise in their early European excursions, coming through qualifying against Zeta and Red Star Belgrade before fighting back to secure an opening group win at home to Stuttgart.

"It's something that lives long on my memory," Hutton said. "We had such a good result against Stuttgart, it built confidence.

"Lyon were champions that year. They had quality players and we knew it was going to be a tough task, but we had self belief. Being young, I was fearless. You respect these guys, but you wanted to show that you deserved to be on the stage with them."

'One of my best moments in a Rangers jersey'

Scotland's iconic win in Paris weeks before had Rangers dreaming that they could also defy the odds in France.

Those dreams started becoming a reality 23 minutes in when Lee McCulloch bulleted in a header to spark bedlam among the Rangers support.

The away end would go from delirium to disbelief after the break as a rocket of a finish from Daniel Cousin from a Hutton pass was quickly followed by a Rangers third from DaMarcus Beasley.

"You try and silence the crowd and keep possession," Hutton said. "I remember teams coming out that season and saying we were playing anti-football. It sticks in my mind.

"But we did show that, when we attacked, we did it with purpose. I remember I had a driving run down the right side and got a corner for the first goal. It silenced the crowd and allowed us to build momentum.

"To score those goals just after half-time really settled us down. You're thinking 'I can't see them scoring four'."

Despite surges of Lyon pressure and two trademark Juninho strikes cannoning off goalkeeper Allan McGregor's crossbar, the visitors saw the game out with a clean sheet to go along with their three goals - a winning margin even manager Walter Smith admitted he could not have envisaged pre-match.

Daniel Cousin (right) rifled in Rangers' second goal

"It was one of my best moments in a Rangers jersey," former Rangers, Tottenham Hotspur and Scotland full-back Hutton said.

"Everything came together for me. Walter Smith allowed me to go and express myself from within games and get forward to try and create opportunities. To be slightly involved in the first goal but to be a part of the second was great.

"We were massive underdogs as fourth seeds - they were the big hitters. I think they were just stunned and would never have foreseen that happening."

Every cloud...

One point from back-to-back games against Barcelona and a trip to Stuttgart set up a winner-takes-all showdown against Lyon at Ibrox in the final group fixture.

But the French side got their revenge, reversing the scoreline they suffered three months prior, thanks to an early goal from France winger Sidney Govou and a late Benzema brace.

While defeat ended Rangers' Champions League dream, a third-place finish ensured passage to the Uefa Cup.

Smith's side would go on to enjoy more famous European nights as they progressed all the way to the final, where they were beaten at the last hurdle by Zenit St Petersburg in Manchester.

The Stade de Gerland scoreboard highlighted Rangers' dream result over a star-studded Lyon back in 2007