• 3 days ago
Mark Atkinson reports from Ibrox after Rangers defeated Fenerbahce in the Europa League.
Transcript
00:00What an eventful night here at Ibrox. Rangers are in the quarterfinals of the Europa League
00:09after overcoming Turkish side Fenerbahce on penalty kicks in the last 16. They had a 3-1
00:14lead from Istanbul, coming back to govern but Fenerbahce under the wily Jose Mourinho
00:19played really well here and won the tie, won the game by two goals to nil, forcing extra
00:24time, a double from Sebastian Simanski. Only one team, to be honest, looked like winning
00:31in extra time and that was the Turks. In fact, they were really good the whole match. Rangers,
00:35by and large, fairly poor and toothless. But when it came to penalty kicks, Jack Butland
00:40was the hero, suiting two spot kicks. Fenerbahce also put one over the bar as Rangers won by
00:45three goals to two. This place absolutely erupted, massive celebrations, lots of noise
00:52and they can look forward to a quarterfinal tie against La Liga side Atletico Bilbao.
00:58They defeated Roma earlier on in the evening. They'll be favourites to beat Rangers, one
01:02would suspect. They're doing well in La Liga and of course the final is in Bilbao and there's
01:07plenty of expectation they could get there themselves. Rangers, as I said, didn't play
01:13especially well but what they did show was plenty of character. They didn't wilt under
01:17enormous pressure. John Suter and James Tavernier really strong in defence and Jack Butland
01:22obviously the hero. In the shootout with his two big saves, they'll play better and probably
01:27lose this season. Barry Ferguson has been speaking post-match. He was very proud of
01:32his team's performance. They go to Celtic Park for a derby and there'll be a lot of
01:39recovery, you imagine, going on at Ockenhowey on Friday as they prepare for that match.
01:45This season still has some life in it. They'll be eagerly anticipating a trip to the Basque
01:50country in April. The first leg is here at Ibrox, followed by a trip to Spain. Jose Mourinho
01:57was interestingly asked after the match how he rated Rangers' chances and while he tried
02:02to be gracious in Mike Lambson's defeat, he said it would be a phenomenal achievement
02:06if Rangers could beat a Bilbao team that actually beat Fenerbahce in the league phase. Mourinho
02:12and Fenerbahce, their campaign is over in the Europa League. For Rangers, this remarkable
02:18love affair with the competition continues. They're into the quarter-finals after a dramatic
02:23night here at Ibrox.