“Best Rangers European result since Lyon 2007” amid stunning Bilbao draw | OneFootball

Let’s dive into Rangers FC’s recent tense 0-0 encounter with Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League quarter-finals. Yes, the score stayed nil-nil, but this was far from your average dry 90 minutes of football. What on the surface might seem like a boring you-know-what encountered a surprising twist, at least for half of the teams involved: Rangers had to finish the match with ten players, beginning with some 70 minutes left to play after a red card. The tension remained high throughout the game, with neither side breaking the deadlock despite a host of near misses (Pilcher & MacKay, 2025).

Imagine this: It’s the 12th minute of the game, and Robin Propper receives a red card, much to the shock of the fans. Rangers are down to 10 men for the remainder of the match. But rather than collapsing under the pressure, they show an unyielding spirit. They play with immense heart and gumption, leaving most of us with no nails left to chew. It’s a performance that would make even the most stoic of grandmothers proud. Rangers’ goalie, Liam Kelly, steps up to save the day, making a series of balletic, gravity-defying saves to keep Bilbao at bay, including a crucial late penalty stop. He emerges as the Man of the Match by quite a distance.

Let’s be real: Athletic Club overwhelmed them. They took control of the game and had multiple opportunities to break Rangers’ last line of defense, but they continually fell short. Liam Kelly’s spectacular night in goal was mostly responsible for that. It all played out like a strange kind of game: which team could miss more? And several of Athletic’s misses were quite close calls. But close doesn’t count. Rangers walked away from this game with a draw, and that’s a result that is very much to their credit. As Rangers surged to unlikely heroics, you really had to wonder just how long they could last.

Is this a top European result for them since Lyon? Discuss! Yes, say some, because of the teamwork and resilience under pressure. For others, it’s the Lyon result itself that still reigns, because they managed to score goals and were also fairly dominant at the business end of the game. You could even make a case for any number of equally dramatic nights, such as Marseille at Ibrox in 1980. But yes, say the fans, under 10 men, and now they head to the second leg in the Basque Country with plenty of hope. And, as we all know, hope can be a dangerous thing.

To sum up, while fans might groan about yet another goalless draw in the world of football, this encounter was anything but boring for those who bleed Rangers blue. The team put in a similarly heroic performance despite being down to 10 men, rattling the keeper’s woodwork, and holding on for dear life in front of their home support. Here’s hoping that they can carry that momentum into the next leg. After all, who doesn’t love an underdog story, especially when it’s your own team?