Ferguson hails 'proper Rangers performance' against Bilbao

Rangers interim manager Barry Ferguson hailed his side's showing in their goalless draw at home to Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League quarter-final a "proper Rangers performance" after playing with 10 men from the 13th minute on Thursday.

Robin Propper was given a straight red card after a VAR review, having been adjudged to have denied a clear goalscoring opportunity when fouling Inaki Williams on the edge of the box.

While Ferguson understood the referee's point of view, he said that the decision forced them to change their gameplan.

"That was a proper Rangers performance, especially going down to 10 men. You wonder how we're going to react but that's the reaction I wanted," he told TNT Sports.

"That's what I spoke about on Monday and the players showed heart, grit and determination.

"It was a bit chaotic. I can see why the referee's given a red card and then you need to shuffle the pack. We had to drop deep with two banks of four.

"Some people had to put a real shift in. There was a real togetherness and I need to see that every single day."

Full-Time: Rangers 0-0 Athletic Club | #UEL A battling first-leg performance at Ibrox.All to play for in Bilbao next Thursday pic.twitter.com/V8Ku279NkX
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) April 10, 2025

Rangers had come into the match having lost each of their previous five matches on the spin at Ibrox in all competitions.

They were up against it in this one too and registered just four shots during the match, failing to have a single effort on target, compared to Athletic Bilbao's 19.

Aside from the red card, the biggest moment of the match came in the 80th minute as the visitors had a goal disallowed following a VAR review but were awarded a penalty at the same time.

But goalkeeper Liam Kelly was able to save the penalty with a trailing foot while diving, keeping the score at 0-0 going into the second leg next week.

"Jack [Butland] was great at saving penalties when he was in goal. Kelly came up trumps with a brilliant penalty save. He was really good tonight," said Ferguson

"We're still in the tie. It's all to play for now and we'll go over there and try and get a result. Tonight, they had a lot of possession and chances but we deserved what we got."