There was always the sense that, despite the two-goal advantage Rangers had amassed in Istanbul, the second leg of this tie would not pass quietly. It finally ended with Barry Ferguson’s players bouncing up and down in front of the Copland Road stand while José Mourinho, who had worn a face as ashen as his all-grey outfit as Fenerbahce fluffed their lines from the spot, led his to perform mea culpas 100 metres away. The night had swung in multiple directions but, over their week’s work, Rangers deserved their shot at toppling Athletic Bilbao in the last eight.
Mourinho could only watch as Fenerbahce, having levelled the tie up and brought on the cavalry, failed to put Rangers away in the final 50 minutes. He would surely have expected more from Dusan Tadic and Fred, both of whom saw Jack Butland make tremendous saves, in the shoot-out; when Mert Hakan Yandas spooned the final penalty over it was party time for the home support, a miss from Ianis Hagi amongst it all rendered entirely irrelevant.
