Villarreal midfielder Santi Cazorla has spoken of his admiration for Rangers boss Steven Gerrard.

Gerrard took over at Rangers in the summer and led the Scottish side to the Europa League group stages, where they start off with a trip to face Cazorla's Villarreal side.

"He is a benchmark and I have measured myself against him," former Arsenal midfielder Cazorla said of the Liverpool legend.

"I always looked towards him.

"From tomorrow, I wish him the best in his coaching career."

Discussing the game itself, Cazorla called for Villarreal to put in plenty of effort.

"The first thing we need to do is to match their intensity," he said of Rangers.

"They'll fight to the death for every ball.

"If we manage this then we'll have a better chance of winning the match."