Adam gears up for Ibrox 'final'

Charlie Adam may have scored with his first touch against VfB Stuttgart, but he is dwelling on neither that nor the 3-2 defeat as Rangers FC look ahead to the make-or-break Matchday 6 meeting with Olympique Lyonnais – a match that he admits "will be like a final for us".

Late drama
With Lyon drawing the other Group E fixture at home to FC Barcelona, victory would have left Rangers on the cusp of a place in the last 16. Yet having gone ahead through Adam at the Gottleib-Daimler Stadion, goals from Cacau and Pável Pardo turned the game on its head and even a 70th-minute Barry Ferguson equaliser was not enough to earn a point as Stuttgart's Ciprian Marica struck late on. "It's disappointing that we couldn't hold on," Adam said. "Now it all comes down to the Lyon match. It will be like a final for us."

'Bitter taste'
That view was echoed by team-mate Kevin Thomson, who lost his personal unbeaten record in the UEFA Champions League having been suspended for the 2-0 defeat in Barcelona a fortnight ago. "It wasn't the best, particularly from a tactical point of view," said the 23-year-old. "It was an open, entertaining match but it leaves a bitter taste when you think that we were in the lead and looking good, only to concede a goal late in the first half and go on to lose. We get our last chance against Lyon."

Pardo praise
Having spent much of his career in France with FC Girondins de Bordeaux, FC Lorient and FC Stade Rennais, Jean-Claude Darcheville knows what to expect from the Ligue 1 champions, and he is confident that home advantage will tell. "I know Lyon are a good team but we are at Ibrox and for the visitors it is always very difficult," said the striker, words that found resonance with Stuttgart's Pardo, who added: "I am an international [with 139 caps], I've played in two [FIFA] World Cups, and now in the Champions League, but my first time in Glasgow? It was fantastic. It's one of the best places you can play, with the crowd, the fans. It was memorable." With a draw enough to send them through, Rangers will hope to ensure Lyon remember it for all the wrong reasons come 12 December.