Kelly the penalty hero as Rangers hold on a man down

VAR might have its critics, but it sure knows how to create drama. Within a quarter of an hour, a review had seen the Rangers defender Robin Propper dismissed on review, while in the second half Athletic Bilbao had a goal disallowed only to be awarded a penalty that was saved. The end result was a goalless draw for Rangers to take to the Basque Country next week.

- Will Unwin

The red card sharpened the Rangers' minds as they fought to stay in the tie against the fourth-best team in Spain. They twice thought that Alex Bereguer's shot had been snatched away when he first fired in from an offside position before failing to redeem the situation from the spot.

These are strange times at Ibrox, where Rangers have lost their past five games in 90 minutes, although that does include a penalty shootout victory against Fenerbahce in the most recent round. Barry Ferguson is the interim head coach who has overseen European success and an away win at Celtic, but they began the visit of Athletic Club as serious underdogs with a slim chance of impressing.

Despite the home failings, Ibrox was raucous as the supporters held hope of two trips to Bilbao, one for the return leg and another for the final. Jack Butland got to absorb the noise on the bench after being dropped, having committed a litany of mistakes, with Liam Kelly preferred, while 18-year-old Bailey Rice made his first European start and only second for the first team.