Volatile Rangers boss the Bosphorus in a special one for Ibrox club - how Barry Ferguson outsmarted Jose Mourinho

Rollercoaster rides don’t get more rowdy than the one Rangers are putting their supporters through this season.

Just five days after losing so limply 2-1 at home to Motherwell, the Ibrox side put on a European masterclass on the banks of Bosphorus to take control of their Europa League last 16 tie with Fenerbahce by winning the first leg 3-1.

Quite simply, Rangers rise to the occasion on the continent. If only they could exhibit the same level when domestic matters come calling. Although it is unlikely the 2,000-strong travelling support holed up in the corner of Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium on Thursday night thought much about recent reversals against Queen’s Park, St Mirren and Motherwell.

Vaclav Cerny scored twice as Rangers won 3-1 at Fenerbahce. | AFP via Getty Images

Rangers have one foot in the quarter-finals of the Europa League. Some fans will be dreaming already of the Eternal City or the Basque country in April. Roma or Athletic Bilbao await the winners of this tie. Ibrox will try to roar them over the line in the second leg next Thursday.

This was a serious triumph for interim head coach Barry Ferguson in only his third game in charge. His predecessor Philippe Clement got a tune out of the players in Europe and this is the stage where Rangers still have a puncher’s chance this season. Putting one over Fenerbahce’s exalted head coach Jose Mourinho is a feather in Ferguson’s cap.

The caretaker boss was scathing of his team’s efforts and performance levels against Motherwell, but he too needed to carry the can for a poorly constructed 4-4-2 formation that was too easily picked apart. In Istanbul, he and his coaching staff ripped it all up and deployed the team in 3-4-2-1 system that completely flummoxed the hosts. They got their tactics bang on the money.

John Souttar’s return at centre-half made a big difference, while the deployment of Connor Barron as a tenacious terrier in midfield gave his team more aggression and combativeness. It was the sort of team you expect from Ferguson.

There were no letdowns in this Rangers XI. From back to front, they excelled. Goalscorers Vaclav Cerny (2) and Cyriel Dessers will grab the headlines but you could go through the whole lot and dish out some seriously good marks.

Goalkeeper Jack Butland made an impressive save at the end. The back three, led by captain James Tavernier, dealt with an aerial bombardment, two physical strikers in Edin Dzeko and Youssef En Neysiri plus an early injury to Robin Propper. His replacement, Leon Balogun, was dominant. Wing-backs Ridvan Yilmaz and Jefte patrolled their flanks diligently, Nicolas Raskin bossed the midfield and Mohamed Diomande put in a power of work.

The Rangers players celebrate in front of their supporters. | AFP via Getty Images

They were helped, it must be said, by an immature performance from Fenerbahce. They appeared complacent and unstructured. Their openness was seized upon by Rangers, who wanted this more. It will be fascinating to see what version of them turns up in Govan. This was their first defeat in all competitions since December 11.

It will be quite the event next week at Ibrox. Thursday nights are often the case for Rangers. Perhaps they could be further ahead in the tie. Dessers had two goals disallowed by the finest of fine margins, VAR denying him twice at the beginning of the second half with marginal offside calls. It must be said, however, that the Nigerian was on the right side of the ruler on six minutes when Rangers seized on defensive sloppiness from the hosts and he rounded keeper Irfan Egribayat to finish - the ball just creeping over the line.

Propper was taken off on 29 minutes when Butland accidentally headbutted his teammate when making a clearance. A minute later, Alexander Djiku hooked in from a corner and Fenerbahce got some momentum.

Jose Mourinho was outsmarted by Barry Ferguson. | AFP via Getty Images

It is to Rangers’ credit that they held firm and on 42 minutes, a swift attack ended with Dessers squaring for Cerny, who slipped the ball home to restore the lead at the break.

Dessers then suffered his two moments of misfortune but it was clear that as Fenerbahce pressed for a leveller, another goal was in the post for Rangers. It arrived on 81 minutes when Raskin’s exquisite pass sent Cerny through on goal and the Czech did the rest.

Mourinho claimed the result was “good” for Fenerbahce, such was the schooling his boys received. But he also warned that his team is not out of it despite the two-goal deficit. That is true, but what version of this volatile Rangers turns up will almost certainly decide the destiny of this tie.