Rangers warned Europa League winners could be lying in wait as former Man Utd star aims high

Nemanja Matic insists Lyon should be aiming to win the competition after beating Olympiacos

Former Man United and Chelsea star Nemanja Matic has warned Rangers the Europa League winners could be lying in wait for them in their next match.

Philippe Clement's side got off to a flier by beating Malmo 2-0 away from home in their opening game on Thursday night. It's Lyon up next at Ibrox on matchday 2 and the Ligue 1 outfit easing past Olympiacos by the same scoreline to make a winning start to their campaign as well. Matic, 36, played in the win and is desperate to finally go one better after being a three-times runners-up in the competition with Benfica, Roma and Manchester United.

And he has no doubts Lyon should be aiming high this season. He said: "It was important to start the Europa League with a win. We are happy with the way we played. It was vital to score early in the second half, and then the second goal allowed us to close the game. We really deserved this win. Our ambition? Simple. We aim to win the Europa League."

And Lyon boss Pierre Sage admitted they need the victory because they have previously only won one game all season. He said: "I had a go at them at half time when it was 0-0 and I told them it wasn't acceptable. We were too soft and we weren't incisive enough. It was different in the second half.

"I don't know if it will launch our season. We have to keep it going now in our next away matches against Toulouse and Rangers."

Meanwhile Malmo defender Pontus Jansson admitted they were lucky to get away with just a two-goal defeat from Rangers after accepting the Ibrox side were levels above them. The veteran central defender Jansson had no complaints about the outcome of the opening Europa League encounter. He said: "It could easily have been even more.

"Rangers were clearly better than us, no question. They were more solid and physical and it feels like they had the clearer plan. Yes, they were way ahead all over the pitch. We can have no complaints about the result."

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