Steven Gerrard's Rangers Are Emulating Liverpool & It's Taking Them to Unprecedented Heights

There was a Scouse roar from the touchline in Poznan when Rangers' win was confirmed on Thursday night.

The match itself wasn't the biggest of Steven Gerrard's managerial career - far from it. The Ibrox side had long since qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League. That was never at stake.

A routine 2-0 win over the Polish champions, however, meant Rangers progressed as group winners ahead of Benfica, joining Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham in the seeded pot for the knockout phase. It saw them finish on 14 points - more than any Scottish team has ever attained in a single European campaign - and undefeated, a first for a Scottish side in a four-team group.

It was a big win, and another victory attained using a very distinct style of football that rings true to those in Gerrard's native Liverpool.

It's something we've seen all season: Rangers pressing high, winning the ball back as soon as they lose it, moving it forward with intent and intensity. In Poznan it was Cedric Itten leading the line, but it doesn't matter if it's Alfredo Morelos against Celtic, Kemar Roofe against Dundee United or the rarely-seen Greg Stewart against League One's Falkirk - the idea is always the same.

Lining up with a three-player forward line, usually with Roofe and Ryan Kent on the flanks, Rangers smother teams. They're supported by a three-man midfield, with any two of Scott Arfield, Glen Kamara and Joe Aribo following in behind the forwards while Steven Davis dictates the tempo between the lines.

Supplemented by two relentless attacking full-backs, one of whom is already approaching 20 goals for the season, Rangers' style is eerily familiar to that which Liverpool have perfected, and the end result has been the same: sheer, indisputable dominance.

With a little inspiration from Jurgen Klopp, Gerrard has completely flipped the script on the Old Firm rivalry and is on track to tear up the landscape of Scottish football as it has been known for the past decade.

Gerrard, the player, never actually worked under Klopp. The legendary captain had jetted off to LA Galaxy by the time the German arrived in the dugout, though he was made to feel more than welcome when he returned to the fold to take charge of the Under-18s.

Given that Liverpool install their tactical imprint on players at such an early stage in their development, Klopp's tactics and philosophy gradually became the backbone to Gerrard's approach. His work with Curtis Jones and Rhys Williams set the stage for the youngsters to propel themselves up the ranks into the first team, and gave him the platform to bring those teachings into the adult world of football management.

And Rangers are finally seeing the fruits of it.

Gerrard sees his tactics as universal. It doesn't matter how long it takes; if you have the ability, the mentality and the level of fitness required, it will come.

He's had to be patient. His first two seasons were rocky, littered with promise but punctuated with ultimate disappointment. Yet his faith never wavered.

Even after his job was called into question after the capitulation that ultimately cost them the 2019/20 title, Gerrard had a calm demeanour and a clear, defiant message. Wait and see.

The result of that patience: 28 games. 24 wins. 0 defeats. A 13-point lead in the Premiership title race and a place in the knockout stages of the Europa League for a second straight season.

It has certainly been worth waiting for.

The big test of Rangers this season may be yet to come. They have yet to stumble - how they recover when they eventually do will define how successful their season ends up being.

The way they are playing now, however, there is no-one in the Scottish Premiership you would back to beat them. Nor is there anyone in the hat for Monday's Europa League draw.