THEIR gallant goalless draw against Athletic Club Bilbao last night may simply, despite the fine results they have recorded on the road in Europe this season against the likes of Dynamo Kyiv, Malmo, Olympiakos, Nice and Fenerbahce, have delayed the inevitable for Rangers.
The highly-fancied Spaniards, who failed to perform as they had been widely tipped to at Ibrox against hosts who were reduced to 10 men early on and nine men during 12 minutes of injury-time, should be a different proposition at their San Mames Stadium next week.
Los Leones remain strong favourites to progress to the semi-finals of the Europa League.
Still, the Glasgow club’s ecstatic supporters were, after an unprecedented run of five straight defeats at home, quite entitled to savour the improbable outcome to the full following the final whistle.
They can even be forgiven for daring to dream a little ahead of a rematch with a Bilbao side who showed they are far from unbeatable.
Liam Kelly, who was preferred to Jack Butland in goals, will not forget this first leg encounter in a hurry. He saved a late penalty and kept a clean sheet to more than justify his surprise inclusion. He endeared himself enormously to fans in the process.
Here are five talking points from a memorable evening in Govan.
Butland binned, Kelly’s heroics
The calls for Butland to be dropped have grown deafening in recent weeks as the man who was tipped to earn a recall to the England squad for the Euro 2024 finals last summer has made costly mistake after calamitous error.
However, even Rangers followers were surprised to see the former Birmingham City, Stoke City and Crystal Palace man left out and his understudy Kelly brought in to replace him when the starting line-up was posted online around an hour before kick-off.
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Barry Ferguson insisted his decision was not solely based on his blunder in the 2-0 home defeat against Hibernian at Ibrox at the weekend – but he confessed the nine-times capped 32-year-old had not been best pleased.
"I still believe in Jack,” he told host broadcaster TNT Sports during the build-up. “But I have to make decisions which I feel are the right way to approach the game. It wasn’t a knee-jerk reaction. I thought long and hard about it.”
It was, no doubt about it, a huge call by the caretaker. Would Kelly rise to the occasion? Or would the move return to haunt the man who made it?
He did brilliantly to deny Maroan Sannadi and Sancet in quick succession and keep the scoreline goalless during a period of sustained Athletic pressure at a crucial period just before half-time. He saved the very best for last.
Propper blow
Kelly will have immediately realised he was in for an even busier evening than he had first anticipated when Robin Propper was red carded for a foul on Athletic winger Inaki Williams.
Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs showed the Dutch centre-half a yellow card and awarded the visitors a free-kick on the edge of their opponents’ area at first. But his VAR colleague Catalin Popa urged him to have another look at the incident on the pitchside monitor. He upgraded it to a red after he did.
It was hard not to feel sympathy for the hapless Propper, who became the first Rangers player to be ordered off in a European game at Ibrox since James Sands walked against Napoli in the September of 2022.
It was a harsh call. It was, though, the correct one. Williams was the last man when he was tripped. By the letter of the law, the defender had to go. Ferguson immediately switched to a flat back four and a 4-4-1 formation and his charges continued to contain and frustrate and defy expectations.
Rice injury
Bailey Rice impressed onlookers when he came on against Manchester United in the Europa League league phase match at Old Trafford back in January – and Ferguson was clearly one of them.
The teenager was handed just his second competitive start for Rangers in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final as Connor Barron was left on the bench. It was another jaw-dropping move by a man who has shown on numerous occasions during his brief tenure in interim charge that he is not afraid to ruffle a few feathers.
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Rice saw little of the ball as Athletic dominated. But when he did receive it he used it wisely. He did not look overwhelmed to be pitted against an individual as experienced and accomplished as Spanish internationalist Sancet.
The experience will be invaluable to the youngster. It will certainly show him the levels which he should aspire to. Fair play to his manager for giving him the 18-year-old the opportunity to test himself on such a stage.
It is to be hoped the head knock which resulted in him being stretchered from the field of play with his neck in a brace in the second half is not too serious and that he returns to action soon. He received a standing ovation from the home support as he left the field. He clapped them right back.
Flat Athletic
The Rangers fans who flocked to Govan in their tens of thousands for an encounter against an Athletic team which finished second in the Europa League league phase table and is sitting in fourth place in La Liga at the moment did so in hope not expectation.
The Williams brothers Inaki and Nico failed to deliver, Sancet was anonymous inside them and Sannadi was hooked after squandering an absolute sitter.
Bizarre VAR
Ernesto Valverde’s men got a goal which their underwhelming efforts had scarcely deserved when Kelly palmed a Gorka Guruzet shot to the feet of Alex Berenguer. The substitute made no mistake and the travelling supporters erupted.
But there was then a completely unexpected turn of events. Kovacs looked at the build-up again during a lengthy delay to play and decided the strike had been offside. He also spotted that Dujon Sterling had handled as the ball came into his area and awarded a penalty.
Berenguer stepped forward to take the spot kick and saw his attempt kept out by the outstretched leg of Kelly.
