Rangers lose fifth European final on penalties in Seville
Aaron Ramsey misses as Eintracht Frankfurt win 5-4 in shootout
Joe Aribo scores Rangers' goal as absorbing game finishes 1-1
Tavernier's defiant tone feels like a good place on which to end this coverage of the reaction to last night's drama.
Stick with us this weekend for the build-up to, coverage of, and reaction from the Scottish Cup final.
Will Rangers bounce back? Can Hearts capitalise on the players' heartbreak?
This is the place to find out. Bye for now.
Captain James Tavernier has told disappointed fans that Rangers will “come back stronger” following their Europa League disappointment on Wednesday night.
Tens of thousands of supporters travelled to Spain – most of them without tickets – and will now turn their focus to Saturday’s Scottish Cup final against Hearts at Hampden Park.
Tavernier was “devastated” by the defeat to the Bundesliga outfit but praised the team's supporters, saying: “I couldn’t be more proud of them. I thank them very much for the support they give us.
“We all feel the support they give us, 100,000 people going to Seville, from everywhere, I couldn’t be more proud.
“This isn’t the end of us, we will come back stronger and make them proud.”
Image source, Getty ImagesTavernier converted his penalty but it was not to be for the Bears
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First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has paid tribute to Rangers after last night's defeat.
During First Minister's Questions at Holyrood, she said Giovanni van Bronckhorst's team "played extremely well" in the final.
She added: "The result last night was heartbreaking for the team and for their many, many fans.
"The achievement of getting to the final was considerable.
"They played extremely well last night, it was a gutsy performance.
"So despite the disappointment, I know the team, everybody associated with the team and the many fans in Seville and watching across Scotland will feel today.
"They should also feel extremely proud of their team.
"They did Scottish football and Scotland proud last night and I send them my congratulations for that achievement."
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BBC Radio 5 Live
Some more fan reaction now as we hear from Jade Anderson.
"It was amazing, it was a brilliant day," she said. "I was watching it in Seville at the fan zone stadium, there were about 30,000 Rangers fans there.
"It is what it is, it's disappointing that we lost but we did well - it's really a lottery when it goes down to penalties.
"I was confident going into the game."
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Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer
Image source, Getty ImagesCrestfallen Rangers players collect the medal they didn't want to feel the weight of around their neck
From the shock and awe of their victory over Borussia Dortmund, to the thunder and lightning of their home wins against Braga and Leipzig, Rangers sparked some remarkable scenes on their epic run to the Europa League final.
The cameos that unfolded in the wake of Wednesday's brutal defeat by Eintracht Frankfurt were something altogether different, though. In the searing heat of Seville, all their dreams melted away.
As Frankfurt whooped and hollered on the winners' podium, Ryan Kent turned his back to them and stared into middle distance, contemplating, no doubt, his extraordinary miss - and Kevin Trapp's save - from point-blank range two minutes before the end of extra time.
Aaron Ramsey was consoled by one team-mate after another, but no end of empathy could cut through the despond that engulfed the Welshman.
The memory of how close Rangers came should make them proud, but putting context on their Europa League exploits will take a while, writes Tom English.
It won't soften the blow all that much for Rangers fans, but the impressive nature of Eintracht's run in the competition is a key bit of context when discussing who the Glasgow side were facing.
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Image source, BBC SportOn Ramsey's penalty misery, De Boer added: "I missed a penalty myself at the 1998 World Cup against Brazil – these things happen.
"Ramsey will know he didn’t take it well, but a shootout is a lottery. Makes it hard to take though, as they were so close."
With the Scottish Cup final now on the agenda for Rangers, the ex-Ibrox star knows it won't be easy for the players to go again so soon.
"It will be difficult to get the players back up for the Scottish Cup final," he said. "After a high intensity, extremely warm environment, the players will be physically affected.
" Van Bronkhorst’s task will be to get the boys mentally ready. He’ll probably make some changes and bring in younger guys."
Looking ahead to next season, he feels his former side will be right in the hunt for the league title.
‘Yes, Rangers can reclaim the Scottish title," he reckons. "If you can beat Dortmund, you can beat Celtic. Recruitment will be key – they need to keep combining youngsters and more experienced guys. Bassey is an excellent player. But it’ll always be tight between Celtic and Rangers."
Former Scotland midfielder Pat Nevin highlighted the harsh reality of Ramsey's saved attempt.
Image source, BBC SportRangers midfielder Steven Davis was non-committal about his future after his side's crushing Europa League final defeat by Eintracht Frankfurt.
The 37-year-old Northern Ireland captain's Ibrox contract expires at the end of this season.
He came on as a second-half substitute and scored a penalty as Rangers lost in the shootout to Frankfurt in Seville.
"I don't know, I don't really want to think about that tonight," Davis told BT Sport when asked about his future.
Speaking on the pitch immediately after the game, Northern Ireland's record cap holder was visibly crestfallen as he looked ahead to Saturday's Scottish Cup final, when Rangers will face Hearts.
"We have obviously got a massive game again on Saturday as well and hopefully we get a winner's medal there, but we need to get over the disappointment of this tonight first," he added.
Image source, Getty ImagesDavis came off the bench for Rangers last night
He added: “The lads should be absolutely proud of themselves, and the fans supported them brilliantly all the way through this tremendous run.
“To get to the end of extra time, and have the chances we had… that is probably the most galling part of it because it was so close to a victory and then goes into penalties, and anything can happen.
“Frankfurt are a good side, they are a well-organised team. There are reasons why they put out Barcelona and there are reasons why they put out West Ham.
“It was a tough 120 minutes and we weren’t quite at our best.”
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Rangers’ European run has “elevated the game in Scotland massively”, says former player Trevor Steven – even though the Glasgow side were ultimately defeated in Seville.
Steven insisted his old club can be proud of their “mind-blowing” efforts to get to the final.
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme, he said: “This run has been just absolutely mind-blowing, no-one expected Rangers to go this distance in the competition when you consider how it all started quite shakily really.
“For Scottish football, it has elevated the game in Scotland massively.
“When you consider the journey through the season to get to the final, and the euphoria it created, it was such a great experience for everyone."
After the final whistle blew in Seville, politicians from across the political spectrum praised Rangers for their performance as they commiserated with the team.
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said the players had done “yourselves, your amazing fans and Scotland proud”.
He added it had been a “fantastic achievement to get to a major European final”, but “it just wasn’t to be on a hot night in Seville”.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said the penalty shootout had been a “cruel, cruel way to lose it” but added that their fans “should be proud of their team getting to the final”.
Sports minister Maree Todd said “defeats don’t come tougher than that”.
She tweeted: “The players will be devastated but there’s a lot to be proud of. Brutal way to end a well matched game.”
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar praised the “tremendous effort by @RangersFC”.
He added: “While the loss in the final will hurt, they should be proud of the incredible journey.”
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross tweeted: “Well played @RangersFC. Not the result you deserved but you did Scottish football proud this evening.”
Image source, BBC SportThe ex-Rangers star added to his earlier comments.
On last night's game, he said: "‘The game was tight – not the best.
"Rangers didn’t start well, but came back into it in the second half, and had a great chance from Ryan Kent to win the game.
"I was already up and ready to cheer, but great save from Kevin Trapp."
Image source, Getty ImagesTrapp denied Kent late on before his penalty heroics