Rangers 0-0 Athletic Club: Visitors frustrated by ten-man Gers

Liam Kelly saved Alex Berenguer's second-half penalty as ten-man Rangers held Athletic Club to a draw in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League quarter-final.

Match in brief: Athletic Club frustrated by Rangers

Liam Kelly celebrates Rangers' 0-0 draw with fellow goalkeeper Jack ButlandGetty Images

Aiming to arrest a run of five consecutive home defeats, Rangers' task was made much more difficult by Robin Pröpper's early dismissal. The visitors controlled possession from that moment on, but they struggled to test Kelly until the latter stages of the first half.

Striker Maroan Sannadi had a goal-bound shot tipped over the crossbar by the Rangers goalkeeper, who did well to cling onto Oihan Sancet's header from the resulting corner. Nico Williams also failed to trouble Kelly with a wild shot from inside the box as the hosts reached half-time on level terms.

Sannadi went close again early in the second half, steering Óscar de Marcos' low delivery narrowly wide of the near post, but the visitors were awarded a golden opportunity to establish a first-leg advantage when Dujon Sterling was ruled to have handled the ball inside the box. However, Kelly deflected Berenguer's penalty over the crossbar with an outstretched left leg to leave everything to play for in next week's return leg.

Alex O'Henley, reporting from Ibrox Stadium

Having played just under 90 minutes with ten men, this result will feel like a victory for Rangers, while Athletic Club might live to regret letting the hosts off the hook. The La Liga side were presented with a gilt-edged opportunity to win the game from the penalty spot in the closing stages, but Kelly's trailing left foot repelled Berenguer's effort.

Reaction

Athletic Club's players applaud their fans at full timeUEFA via Getty Images

Liam Kelly, Rangers goalkeeper: "I never actually had much to do in the game. Once we went down to ten men, the guys in front of me were absolutely brilliant. I just wanted to help the team; I don't really care about me."

Ianis Hagi, Rangers midfielder: "The result feels good; I'm not sure I'd say it feels like a win, but we have set ourselves up for a good game next week. It will be tough. It's a stadium I know from my time in Spain [a loan spell with Alavés], plus they're one of the best teams in Europe."

Barry Ferguson, Rangers interim coach: "That was a proper Rangers performance. That's the exact reaction I wanted. That's what I spoke about on Monday and the players tonight showed a performance full of heart, grit and determination."

Daniel Vivian, Athletic Club defender: "We know we had a big chance tonight to get a result to take back to Bilbao, but 0-0 is still a good result for us. The red card allowed us to launch a lot of attacks. We couldn't score, but we know we can change that at San Mamés."

Ernesto Valverde, Athletic Club coach: "We played against ten men for a large part of the game. We had opportunities to score, including the penalty, but we didn't. That's football, but the key thing is that we had chances. Whoever wins [the second leg] will go through."

Rangers interim coach Barry Ferguson was delighted with his team's displayAFP via Getty Images

Key stats

• Rangers have lost only one of their last eight UEFA competition matches at home against Spanish teams (W1 D6).
• Rangers goalkeepers have saved three of the last seven penalties they have faced in major European competition.
• They could become the first Scottish club to reach 100 Europa League goals in Bilbao next week.
• The Gers have won five of their last six two-legged Europa League ties.
• Athletic Club failed to score for the first time in 19 Europa League matches.
• The visitors have only failed to win three of their last ten Europa League games (L2).

Line-ups

Rangers: Kelly; Sterling, Pröpper, Balogun; Tavernier, Rice (Barron 68), Raskin, Rıdvan Yılmaz (Jefté 69); Černý (McCausland 90+6), Dessers (Igamane 85), Hagi (N. Bajrami 90+5)

Athletic Club: Agirrezabala; De Marcos (Gorosabel 90+4), Vivian, Yeray Álvarez, Iñigo Lekue; Ruiz De Galarreta (Prados 63), Jaureguizar; I. Williams, Sancet (Berenguer 74), N. Williams; Sannadi (Guruzeta 62)