Jack Butland was the hero as Rangers marched into the Europa League quarter-finals after a penalty shoot-out triumph against Fenerbahce at Ibrox.
Butland saved twice as Rangers won 3-2 on penalties after a 2-0 defeat to set up a clash with Athletic Bilbao.
Goals in each half from Sebastian Szymanski had wiped out Rangers’ first-leg lead after Barry Ferguson’s men missed chances to put the tie beyond the Turkish side.
Super.Jack.Butland.@JackButland_One | #UEL
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) March 13, 2025
There were further opportunities for both sides, but 210 minutes of football failed to produce a winner.
Butland saved from Dusan Tadic and Fred either side of Ianis Hagi seeing his shot turned onto a post and Rangers went through when Mert Hakan Yandas blazed well over.
Despite losing 3-1 in Turkey and escaping another two away goals through marginal offside decisions, Jose Mourinho claimed on the eve of the game his side were a better team than Rangers.
There was little evidence of that for most of the first half. Rangers looked comfortable, with Connor Barron and Nico Raskin dominating the middle of the park and both Vaclav Cerny and Mohamed Diomade seeing plenty of the ball further forward.
Cerny was particularly dangerous but his best first-half chance fell to his weaker right foot and he sliced well wide. He fired just wide from 25 yards and nearly slalomed his way through the visiting defence but could not beat a third opponent.
There was a warning later in the half for Rangers when Youssef En-Nesyri ran off Leon Balogun’s shoulder to meet a lofted pass on the volley. The shot was well off target.
Fenerbahce continued to grow into the game and opened the scoring in the final minute of the half after some poor positioning from James Tavernier, who was playing on the right of a back three. Filip Kostic’s cross sailed over the Rangers captain’s head and found Szymanski in space to volley into the top corner.
Ferguson had another issue to contend with after five of his players were booked in the first half, including John Souttar and Diomande, who picked up suspensions for the quarter-finals in the process.
Fenerbahce striker Talisca came close from long range and with a header but Rangers had chances to restore their two-goal cushion.
Cerny again shot wide with his right foot from inside the box and substitutes Nadim Bajrami and Hamza Igamane both forced saves after some effective pressing had created good chances, especially for the latter.
The aggregate score was soon levelled in the 73rd minute. Both Jefte and Balogun dived into challenges to allow Mert Muldur to cut back for Szymanski to fire a shot through Tavernier’s legs and in.
Both sides came close to a winner in the 90 minutes, with Tadic curling just wide from 25 yards and Hagi just failing to connect with Barron’s driven ball across the face of goal.
Rangers looked the likelier team for most of extra time. Cerny forced two saves from the edge of the box and Tavernier saw a free-kick clawed out from the line.
But the hosts began to tire and Butland made good stops from Yusuf Akcicek and Tadic either side of major appeals for a penalty against Raskin, which earned Mourinho a yellow card.
Visiting goalkeeper Irfan Can Egribayat appeared to claim he had been hit by a missile thrown from the Copland Stand. He was soon back there for the shoot-out and was upstaged by Butland.
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