Rangers ride rollercoaster of emotions to book Bilbao date as Jose Mourinho bingo card fills up

Callum Davidson, Stephen Robinson and Michael Wimmer. It isn’t company he might have imagined ever joining but Jose Mourinho is now included in the not-so-select band of managers who have masterminded wins over Rangers at Ibrox in recent weeks.

It proved, however, the hollowest of victories. Rangers certainly won't be treating it as a 2-0 loss even if the record books are obligated to show it as one - the Ibrox side lost a fourth football match in a row for the first-ever time at home. But they then won a shootout to render Fenerbahce's spirited comeback from a 3-1 first leg defeat redundant in the final analysis.

Mourinho marched straight across the Ibrox turf at the end to console Mert Hakan Yandas after the substitute had blazed Fenerbahce’s fifth penalty over the bar. Dusan Tadic and Fred had already failed to score, with Jack Butkand performing heroics in the case of the latter, while James Tavernier, Vaclav Cerny and Tom Lawrence had all been successful with theirs. Ianis Hagi's effort was tipped onto the post by Irfan Can Egribayat.

Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland celebrates with Cyriel Dessers (L) and Mohamed Diomande (R) after the penalty shoot-out win over Fenerbahce. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group) | SNS Group

Rangers had lost and had earned some unwanted history but they were partying in the stands. Now start trying to unpick that. But before you do, let it sink in that a side managed by Barry Ferguson, who was attending Rangers matches as an ambassador a few short weeks ago, will now play Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League last eight after an utterly enthralling night at Ibrox. Football heritage? It was certainly that, to quote an old Mourinho press conference. Perhaps more apt is that son of Govan's expression of relief after a last-gasp winner had given Alex Ferguson's Manchester United a Champions League win over Bayern Munich in Barcelona: "Football? Bloody hell!"

The home fans didn’t know whether to jeer or cheer at the end of the 90 minutes, though credit to them, they stayed with their team. And why not? Rangers let slip a two-goal aggregate lead and yet could easily have already been through already had they taken just one of several good chances. Substitute Ianis Hagi was just inches away from connecting with a cross that had he managed to even faintly touch would have saved a lot of stress.

Billy Dodds, the Rangers assistant coach, spent most of extra time digging fingers into his temples. Was he instructing his team to believe or trying to prevent his own senses frazzling further. Cerny watched Irfan Can Egrbiayat perform an outstanding one-handed save from his curling shot. It was announced he was coming off for Danilo at half time of extra time. He didn’t take kindly to the news and stayed on. What was going on here?

It was emotional – there was a loud minute’s applause in the 40th minute for Christopher Potter, the Rangers fan killed in a traffic accident in Istanbul last week. It was surreal – at one point Cyriel Dessers enacted a variation of a Johan Cruyff turn in the middle of the park. And it was tense, although you might have taken that as read given the circumstances and high stakes.

Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho pleads to the fourth official during the Europa League match against Rangers at Ibrox. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group) | SNS Group

Mourinho, the wily old silver fox, was booked in the second half of extra time for complaining about the failure to review a potential penalty incident. There is no better place to play and watch football than in the UK he had claimed on the eve of the match. He may need to revise his opinion after this although he is right to acknowledge that his side were huge contributors to the theatre of it all, and were close to pulling off the perfect Mourinho tactical performance.

A player booked for diving and a yellow card administered to a member of his backroom staff within the opening twenty minutes. The Jose Mourinho bingo card didn’t take long to start filling up in his first competitive outing on Scottish soil.

Anderson Talisca, the Brazilian forward, picked up the booking for simulation - harshly in this observer’s opinion. He was felled on the edge of the box by Jefte in what would have been a very dangerous position. Mourinho’s anguish was plain to see but like the best line managers, he delegated the yellow card grade theatrics to someone else.

He had returned to the dressing room by the time Fenerbahce crowned what was an almost perfect opening 45 minutes when it came to satisfying their own needs.

Not losing the first goal was an imperative. Scoring one before half time was also considered ideal. Sebastian Szymanski’s hooked effort on the stroke of half time – it came seconds before the stadium clock hit 45.00 minutes – meant Mourinho was running round the players’ tub in the away dressing room rather than skipping down the Ibrox touchline. Fenerbahce were back in it, if they were ever completely out of it.

Fenerbahce's Sebastian Szymanski celebrates scoring his side's opener against Rangers at Ibrox. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group) | SNS Group

They might have been had Cerny got a better connection to a Jefte cutback after Mohamed Diomande’s lofted ball down the left. The Czech Republic winger did manage to hit the sweet spot with a sweeping shot that flew just past Egribayat’s left upright and indeed looked to have crept inside it from certain angles. The ball ruffled only the outside of the side netting after bashing back off an advertising board.

Just as the margins are slim at this level, the timing can be tight too. Mourinho had already turned on his heels and the fourth official was preparing to punch a 2 into his board when the excellent Fred spread the ball wide towards Filip Kostic on the left. The full back’s cross took a nick off Dujon Sterling and then looped over James Tavernier. A sumptuous finish was still required to send the ball into the net and Szymanski supplied it with a hooked left footed shot over his shoulder and beyond Butland.

As if the contrast could not be any more glaring, Mourinho stood out even more from his inexperienced opposite number by choosing all grey attire – including shoes, and hair of course. An expensive wristwatch glinting in the Ibrox floodlights. Ferguson, by contrast, opted for deepest darkest blue – except for the dark brown brogues, naturally.

It was a fascinating juxtaposition. The same height and build, Mourinho looked like a blanched version of Ferguson. It was, however, a far from pallid game.

How could it be? The away fans started to take their places about 90 minutes before kick off. The atmosphere was cooking nicely by the time Mourinho slid into his dugout seat amid a ruck of bodies.

He wasn’t hidden for long. He seemed imbued with the quality of a mystic when instructing Edin Dzeko and Tadic to get ready to come on in the 72nd minute before watching Szymanski score his second of the night just seconds later. The Pole prodded home after Jefte had failed to deal with a surging run from Mert Mulder. Mourinho barely flinched. On came Dzeko and Tadic for Bright Osayi Samuel and Talisca, which hardly helped brighten the home fans’ outlook. Any such pessimism proved unfounded, however, on one of the craziest nights in the 125-year history of Ibrox.