Jorge Jesus sees clear similarities between Rangers and Liverpool

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Benfica boss Jorge Jesus sees similarities between Rangers and Liverpool. Benfica face Rangers on Thursday in the Europa League.

Jorge Jesus knows Liverpool. His Flamengo team pushed them hard in the Club World Cup final last year, narrowly losing 1-0. And he believes he’s facing a similar side on Thursday.

He’s now back at Benfica and will pit his team against Steven Gerrard’s in the Europa League. Jesus feels he knows what’s coming, though.

“I know [Rangers] well, last year they played against FC Porto and Braga,” he explained, per Record. “A different system, similar to that of Liverpool, always plays with the same idea, away or at home.”

Jesus went on to explain a little further, too.

“They have an interesting game system, normally teams that play in 4-3-3 go more to 4-5-1, but they are not,” he said.  “It’s really 4-3-3, with ball and without ball. A little bit like Liverpool, but with different players.”

There’s certainly no better team to take inspiration from than Liverpool, of course. Jurgen Klopp’s team are the reigning English and World champions, having also won the Champions League in 2019.

And, naturally, you can see the connection with Gerrard. He’s one of the greatest players in Liverpool’s history and his work as a coach there means he has an inside track on how things operate.

Rangers do have a long way to go before they reach those standards, however. But a coach with Jesus’s pedigree comparing them to Liverpool is undoubtedly a huge compliment.

A win away at Benfica would go some way to justifying the comparisons, too. The Portuguese side have matched Rangers’ six points from two games to top the group with a better goal difference.

If Rangers can make it three wins from three, then it’ll seem like the sky is the limit right now.