Rangers

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Captain James Tavernier has accepted the blame for the goal that crushed Rangers' Europa League dreams.

As Barry Ferguson's side chased a late equaliser against Athletic Bilbao, Nico Williams got in behind Tavernier to head Oscar de Marcos' cross into the net and send the hosts through to the semis.

"First half we were a shadow of ourselves. We let the occasion get to us," Tavernier told TNT Sports.

"We tried to address it at half-time. We knew we had 45 minutes to address it. The boys tried to give it all but it wasn't enough.

"The second goal is on me, I was organising and switched off for the cross."

Interim boss Ferguson has called for a swift resolution to his future and Tavernier insists he would be happy for the former skipper to be appointed on a permanent basis.

"We have to reflect on this season, it's not been good enough. There's going to be a lot of change, it can only get better," he added.

"I've been really happy since Barry came in, he's steadied the ship and knows the DNA of the club. I'd love to have Barry here next season, it's not up to me."

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• Rangers have failed to win in their past three games in the Europa League, their last longer winless streak was from 11 March 2021 to 30 September 2021, a run of for games.

• This was James Tavernier's 63rd major European appearance for Rangers, taking him ahead of John Greig and into outright second spot and behind only Allan McGregor (78).

• Rangers have failed to score in their past three games in the Europa League, a run of 329 minutes without a goal.

• Athletic have kept a clean sheet in six of their 12 games, no team has done this more in the Europa League this season.

• Rangers have been eliminated at the quarter-final stage of a European campaign for the first time since the 1987-88 European Cup against FCSB (lost 3-2 on aggregate).

• Athletic have reached the semi-finals of a major European competition for the first time since the 2011-12 Europa League under Marcelo Bielsa.

• In all competitions, Rangers have gone four games without a win (D2 L2) within the same season for the first time since March 2019 (5 under Steven Gerrard).

• Athletic had 15 shots in the first half of this match, their most ever in the first 45 minutes of a Europa League game.

Former Fifa official Keith Hackett is in no doubt that Rangers should have been awarded a penalty after Cyriel Dessers had his shirt ripped by a pull from a defender in Athletic Bilbao's box during last night's Europa League defeat. (Football Insider), external

Nico Raskin says he would only ever leave Rangers for a club that would guarantee him a starting place every week as he seeks a place in the Belgium squad for the 2026 World Cup. (RTBF via Daily Record, external)

Read the rest of Friday's Scottish gossip.

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Calum Macdonald
BBC Sport Scotland in Bilbao

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Rangers defender Leon Balogun has revealed that he fractured his cheekbone in the 2-0 Europa League quarter final defeat by Athletic Bilbao on Thursday.

The Nigerian defender went off early in the second half in Spain, but does not immediately think it has ended his season.

Rangers have five Scottish Premiership games remaining.

"I've fractured my cheekbone again, so it's the fourth time I think in my career," he said. "I knew it straight away and I knew that I had to come off with it.

"I asked the doc if there's any chance for me to stay on, but then the pain normally kicks in five, 10 minutes after and then it's not really nice.

"We'll see how severe, but probably we'll need a little small surgery or something and then a few days rest and then I can go back on with the mask."

Rangers will end the season without a trophy following the defeat in the Basque Country and Balogun admits they were beaten by the better team.

"I think you have to be honest and I don't think we showed enough quality today in order to severely threaten them," the centre-back added.

"We all came here with a lot more expectation probably to ourselves and we did not really live up to it.

"I know this is not what the supporters and the people back home want to hear, but sometimes you have to hold your hands up and I think Bilbao showed that they're the better team.

"Were we hoping for probably a lucky punch."

Have your say on the match and performance.

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Rangers interim head coach Barry Ferguson: "Obviously disappointed. The work rate was there but the quality wasn't. It's going to hurt. We need to go away and reflect a bit before finishing the season as strongly as possible.

"The players are disappointed because they know the qualities we've got. It's the quality in the middle third and final third we didn't quite get right.

"I want them to hurt because I'm hurting. The main thing for me is they need to come in on Monday and finish the season as strongly as possible.

"[We should have had] two penalties. It changes the dynamic of the game. It's a clear pull on Cyriel [Dessers], it's a clear red card. It baffles me at times some of the decisions.

"In the second half with Nicolas [Raskin], it strikes [the defender's] hand and that's another penalty.

"At the end of the day, we were up against a quality team. Sometimes you have to hold your hands up.

"As we all know, it's been a really disappointing season.

"[The fourth official] wasn't willing to speak to me. I'm not going to tip toe round it, everyone here knows it's a penalty and a red card, so it's disappointing the referee hasn't made the right decision."

Thomas Duncan
BBC Sport Scotland

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There was always a sense this tie would be a bridge too far for Rangers. Athletic are flying high in La Liga and on a mission to win this tournament.

However, the Ibrox side have had a habit of performing near miracles on the Europa League stage, consistently defying the odds.

But when Cyriel Dessers' ripped shirt only lead to a yellow card for the Nigerian for dissent rather than a penalty, you got the sense there would be no luck on their side.

Injuries to Ridvan Yilmaz, Ianis Hagi, and Leon Balogun forced Ferguson and his staff into multiple changes of shape as they tried to adjust.

But luck and injuries aside, Rangers were also outclassed over the tie.

Athletic, channelling the energy of a fervent crowd, hounded them out of possession and piled the pressure on in the first half.

Rangers went close to holding out until half-time, but John Souttar's foul robbed them of the chance to regroup with the game goalless.

A brief flurry after the break and the fact their hosts had only found one goal kept hope flickering, but Athletic have the best defensive record in La Liga and largely held them at arms' length until Williams pounced to extinguish it.

Rangers can be proud of another good run at this level, but their season is now over and the questions will start about an uncertain future.

When will the takeover by the San Francisco 49ers group be completed? Who will the manager be? How many players will leave?

These are the only questions left for the club to focus on after a trophy-less season.

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Hibs have cut the away ticket allocations for their final two home matches this season to allow more of their own fans to attend.

Both Dundee United and final-day visitors Rangers will be given just under 1,500 tickets at Easter Road next month.

When Rangers last played in Leith - the 3-3 draw in January - they had around 2,900 tickets for the 3,800-capacity South Stand.

Hibs fans will now be able to purchase tickets in that stand.

A club statement said: "As we look to create a raucous atmosphere for our final two home fixtures of the season, we have reduced our opponents' allocations to provide more tickets to Hibernian supporters."

Hibs have won their past seven games in the capital and are unbeaten at home since November.

David Gray's side, who last weekend equalled a 77-year club record by making it 17 top-flight games unbeaten, have a three-point lead over Aberdeen and Dundee United with five matches left in the battle to finish third.

Former Rangers defender Maurice Ross hopes progression to the Europa League semi-finals is "written in the stars" for Barry Ferguson's side as they look to make it past Athletic Bilbao tonight after battling to a goalless draw with 10 men in the first leg.

Listen to more build-up on the Scottish football podcast

Liam McLeod
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator in Bilbao

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Rangers captain James Tavernier says he hasn't been able to rewatch the Europa League final defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt, almost three years on from the club's Seville heartache.

Tavernier converted the opening penalty in the shootout against the Germans only to collect a runners-up medal minutes later.

And he is using that disappointment to try to secure a quickfire return to Bilbao for next month's showpiece as Rangers face Athletic in the second leg a quarter-final finely poised at 0-0.

"Still never watched a replay of the game," the defender said.

"When I eventually hang up my boots I will maybe look back at it. It really hurts. To get to the final felt once in a lifetime but we've now got a really good chance to get back there.

"It's a beautiful stadium and it's somewhere we want to come back to for the final.

"It's important we play together as a team, that's what got us to the final the last time. We need to limit their chances and keep 11 men on the pitch.

"It's anyone's game. We need to leave the pitch with no regrets and give it our all, which we will do. We want to give the fans a night to remember too."

When asked why he believes his side have a chance of getting back on to one of European football's grandest stages, he pointed to the continental adventure Rangers have been on this season.

"Look at the opposition we've played so far and the games," Tavernier, 33, said.

"We believe we can take on anyone on our day. European competitions have always been good for us. We have great belief in that changing room.

"We will have to always be concentrated, we will have to suffer without the ball and hopefully we can catch them on the counter."

Liam McLeod
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator in Bilbao

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Athletic Bilbao striker Maroan Sannadi has praised Rangers' resilience in last-week's Europa League stalemate but expects his side to finish the job on home soil tonight.

Barry Ferguson's side held the Basque team to a goalless draw in the quarter-final first leg despite playing 77 minutes with 10 men.

"It will be different to the away match. There are an aggressive team with great players and we hope the match will go well," Sannadi said.

"We have to take a positive message from the first match, it was a good result. We had a lot of chances. I hope we'll win the match with the great atmosphere we have at San Mames.

"Each team has its way of playing and I think they have good, high level players, but they had one player less and I don't think they were as aggressive as they can be after that."

Sannadi, who was on loan in the third tier of Spanish football in the first half of the season, insists the Bilbao squad is not feeling any extra pressure despite the city hosting this year's final.

"I dream about getting through," he added. "I don't feel any pressure, neither does the team even though we're playing in front of our crowd.

"We'd had a number of ties but the win on Sunday [3-1 against Rayo Vallecano] has given us a lot of confidence going into such a big game.

"I hope to experience a great atmosphere and that will help us come closer to winning."

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Barry Ferguson should be in with a "serious chance" of becoming permanent Rangers manager, regardless of Thursday's second-leg result in Bilbao, says former Ibrox goalkeeper Cammy Bell.

Ferguson has won just four of his nine matches in charge but has led Rangers to the Europa League quarter-finals and earned a first win at Celtic Park in more than four years.

Victory in their second-leg trip to Athletic Bilbao on Thursday would ensure progression to the Europa League semi-finals, but Bell feels Ferguson has already done enough to "be under consideration" for the permanent role.

"I think he's got a serious chance of getting the job anyway," Bell told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast. "I think there's got to be consideration for what he's done, the reaction he's got.

"Yes, his league form's not been great, but I think he's certainly brought a spark back to a Rangers team that's really been on its knees at times this season.

"So he will be under consideration, but we don't know where the ownership's going to be. We don't know what their mindset's going to be. They could already have somebody in mind who they want to bring in.

"But all Ferguson can do is win games of football. If he wins this game on Thursday night, it's an incredible achievement."

Borussia Dortmund and USA midfielder Gio Reyna, 22, is a summer transfer target for Rangers, with LAFC also interested, according to MLS Transfers on X. (Daily Record), external

Read the rest of Thursday's Scottish gossip.

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Calum Macdonald
BBC Sport Scotland

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Rangers interim boss Barry Ferguson says that, despite scoring in Sunday's comeback draw at Aberdeen, striker Hamza Igamane needs to add more to his all-round game.

Igamane started in his preferred centre-forward position at Pittodrie and rewarded Ferguson with a goal to start Rangers' fightback from two goals down, but Cyriel Dessers has been Ferguson's go-to striker in Europe.

And, while the former captain was impressed with the Moroccan's performance on Sunday, he's looking for more from the 22-year-old.

"Hamza did well, but Hamza can do a lot more," Ferguson said. "I'm very demanding on that side of his game.

"There's no doubt Hamza's got so much quality, he's technically so gifted, but he needs to add other things to his game. That's something we've been working hard on."

Perhaps those words suggest Igamane will start Thursday's Europa League quarter-final second-leg decider at Athletic Bilbao on the bench.

As well as having a big decision to make in the striking position, Ferguson has more options to choose from all over the pitch with players returning from both injury and suspension.

"Bailey Rice, Leon Balogun, Vaclav Cerny and Ridvan Yilmaz all trained and will hopefully be available tomorrow night," Ferguson revealed.

"I already know my team, the players know my team, and hopefully they'll be ready for tomorrow."

Calum Macdonald
BBC Sport Scotland

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Rangers interim head coach Barry Ferguson has been speaking to the media before their Europa League quarter-final second leg against Athletic Bilbao.

Here are the key points from his news conference:

• Leon Balogun, Vaclav Cerny, Bailey Rice and Ridvan Yilmaz all trained ahead of the second leg and are in contention to play in Bilbao.

• Ferguson says the game is wide open, these are the games you want to be involved in as a player and a manager, but he understands Rangers are up against a team with a very strong home record.

• He says leading Rangers to a European semi-final would be right up there with anything he achieved as a player.

• Keeping eleven men on the pitch will be key to Rangers' chances in Spain, given they have had a player sent off in their past two matches.

• Ferguson thinks Athletic Bilbao are favourites for the competition and was full of praise for them, saying they have some top players and a top manager in Ernesto Valverde.

• When asked if Hamza Igamane's performance on Sunday against Aberdeen gave him a big decision to make, Ferguson said the Moroccan striker did well on Sunday but that he can do a lot more - he's technically very gifted but has to add other aspects to the game. Ferguson revealed the team for tomorrow is already decided and the players already know the team.

• Ferguson says Rangers are well prepared for every eventuality including penalties, with the scores level on aggregate.

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Alex McLeish believes European football may bring "relief" for Rangers players to "express themselves a bit more" amid a wild season of inconsistency.

McLeish's former side are set to take on Athletic Bilbao in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final in Spain on Thursday night.

Barry Ferguson's men held the Spanish visitors to a goalless draw in the first game at Ibrox after playing most of the night with 10 men following defender Robin Propper's red card.

The Govan club have turned in a series of impressive performances in Europe this season, including a last-16 triumph over Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce, but they will end the season in Scotland without a trophy.

McLeish managed Rangers between 2001 and 2006, winning a treble among seven trophies, and took them to the last 16 of the Champions League.

"The European competition has been incredible," he said. "Beating Jose Mourinho and putting one on him, that was exceptional.

"And now doing what the team did last week [against Bilbao], it just shows what they have in their lockers, but they've not quite been doing that domestically.

"I don't know if maybe it seems like a relief for some of the players when they go into Europe and they seem to express themselves a bit more than they have done in the domestic league.

"I think there's an element of [underdog mentality] as well. There's definitely psychology involved in it."

Liam McLeod
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator in Bilbao

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Athletic Club manager Ernesto Valverde is wary of Rangers' away form ahead of Thursday's decisive Europa League quarter-final match in Bilbao.

The Ibrox side are unbeaten in their last six on the road, winning five of them - including at Fenerbahce in the last 16 and at Celtic.

But the Govan club are winless in six at home, although the goalless draw in the first leg of this tie in Glasgow means it is all to play for in Spain.

"We've played deciding matches here before and won some and lost some," the Athletic boss said.

"We have to play our game, but we have to be aware of them and how they're going to play. They are a great team. They proved it in the competition and in the first leg, and they also made a great comeback on Sunday.

"They've played good matches and if memory doesn't fail they only lost to Manchester United in the last minute."

Valverde highlighted attacking duo Cyriel Dessers and Vaclav Cerny and the impact they have made on this season's competition.

"They have players that work very well in the spaces, Dessers is a beacon and is a dangerous player in counter attacks," he added.

"Cerny is a bullet and is very accurate when it comes to scoring. Maybe this is why they're better away from home.

"They have a good counter-attack. I know they will be dangerous here. But we want to be dangerous for them.

"They went more into defence and did a good job [in the first leg]. We lacked a bit of speed in our play but had enough chances to score and now it's another opportunity."

Valverde may have to face the second leg without Inaki Williams after the forward came off during Athletic's comeback win at home to Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.

And the former Barcelona boss doesn't think he and his players are feeling the heat as the city prepares to host this season's final.

"Inaki (Williams) is in doubt," he said. "We will see in training today. I'm only going to use players who are 100% for the match.

"It's exactly the same. We know when and where the final is because the date was set a long time ago."

And has Valverde been getting his players to practice their penalty technique ahead of a possible shootout in this match?

"We have to train and prepare everything," he said. "Shooting a penalty in training has nothing to do with doing it for real. It is different.

"Rangers qualified after a shootout against Fenerbahce. Until last year's (Copa Del Rey) final, shootouts hadn't gone well for me.

"We have to focus on the game and how we play. There are a lot of emotions behind it, but we have to set that aside."