Shirt goes down for trophyless Rangers as Bilbao make them pay (2025)

Barry Ferguson watched his side come up short as they exit the Europa League at the quarter final stage

Rangers Europa League hopes were sunk in Spain as Athletic Bilbao sent them crashing out.

Barry Ferguson’s side failed to reach the semi-finals after suffering a 2-0 second-leg defeat at the San Mames.

Oihan Sancet’s penalty - after a misjudged tackle from John Souttar - and Nico Williams’ header booked Bilbao’s place in the last four and left Gers licking their wounds.

Rangers were denied a spot kick of their own when Cyriel Dessers was pulled in the box early on.

And at 1-0, Nico Raskin hit the post as Rangers valiantly tried to get themselves level in the tie.

But Williams’ winner killed them off and ended Ferguson’s bid to take the club back to Bilbao for the final next month.

It's been yet another incredible Europa League journey.

But ultimately for Rangers, just like the last one in 2022, it ended with more Europa League pain in Spain.

Three years ago under Gio van Bronckhorst, they reached the final in Seville only to lose out on penalties to Eintracht Frankfurt.

Oihan Sancet’s penalty on the stroke of half-time and Nico Williams’ header was enough to give Athletic Bilbao the victory they needed to progress to the semi-final.

And for Ferguson, it was agony on the touchline as he watched his side be denied a spot kick of their own as Cyriel Dessers was pulled in the box - then later when Nico Raskin hit the post.

The defeat effectively ended Rangers’ season as their hopes of returning to the Basque country were ended by Ernesto Valverde’s side.

Here are five talking points from the Estadio San Mames:

Bilbao too good

You always expect the unexpected with this Rangers side in the Europa League, which has become a dream tournament for them.

That’s why, even though Athletic Bilbao were odds-on favourites to progress last night, only a fool would have ruled out the Ibrox side.

Fans were fantasising about yet another miracle away display in Europe that could see them reach the last four.

And after that, anything would be possible as they looked to emulate their 2022 run to Seville for the Europa Final.

But the truth is - and you haven’t been able to say this often about Gers in this competition - the La Liga outfit were just too good for Barry Ferguson’s men.

And on a night when he needed every single player in a blue shirt to be bang at it - too many weren’t at their best and they paid the price.

Injuries didn’t help the interim gaffer as he had to make several changes to his shape and line-up during the 90 minutes.

But Jefte wasn’t at the races all night, Dessers couldn’t produce one of his stunning Euro displays - and even skipper James Tavernier was caught napping for the Spaniards’ second goal.

Discipline denied

Ferguson called for a disciplined display from his side, knowing that one lapse of concentration could cost them dear.

He needed players to make defensive blocks and tackles at the right time to keep Athletic out.

At the same time, the Rangers boss was delighted to get John Souttar back after being suspended for the first-leg at Ibrox.

But unfortunately for Ferguson, it was his most reliable defender who let the side down just before half-time.

There was no doubt about Bilbao’s spot kick after a moment of madness from Souttar, who switched off for a second - exactly what his manager had warned against pre-match.

For 45 minutes, the defence had stuck to their jobs with laser focus, barely putting a foot wrong.

But what Souttar was thinking as he tackled Maroan Sannadi in the box is anyone’s guess.

The striker was on the Scotland centre-back’s blind side but was being tracked by Leon Balogun.

Souttar decided to stretch for the ball, Sannadi invited the trip and got a stonewall penalty.

Big calls

Most of Ferguson’s team would have picked itself in Bilbao, given what he had at his disposal.

But Gers’ interim gaffer had a couple of big calls to make.

He must have been tempted to go with his Istanbul line-up when they beat Fenerbahce 3-1, which included Connor Barron as a sitter.

But in Spain, he decided to go for a more attacking option in Ianis Hagi who has played his way into Ferguson’s thinking in recent weeks.

His dogged display against Athletic at Ibrox would have impressed his manager - and he secured his place with an equaliser off the bench at Pittodrie.

Hagi was deployed as a left-sided forward, trying to support Dessers, with Mo Diomande dropping back into Barron’s defensive role.

And Ferguson’s other big call was around his Nigerian striker.

Ferguson likes Desssers' commitment, desire and running power up top - and would have been praying for another Istanbul-like performance from his enigmatic number 9.

Special claims

Most people laughed off Jose Mourinho’s claim after his Fenerbahce side lost at Ibrox that UEFA might make it difficult for Rangers to get the better of Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League.

With the final of the competition at their home stadium, the controversial Portuguese gaffer said it would take something extra to ensure Athletic wouldn’t be returning to the San Mames in May.

Mourinho pointed at Roma’s defeat to the Spaniards earlier in the competition when Mats Hummels was harshly sent off for the Serie A side.

Let’s get one thing straight - over two legs Bilbao deserved to go through on performance alone

But there can be no argument that some seriously big decisions went against Rangers in both games.

The penalty Bilbao got in Glasgow for a non-existent handball against Dujon Sterling was ludicrous and, thankfully for Gers, Liam Kelly kept it out.

But last night, Ferguson’s side were denied what looked like a certain spot kick early on when Dessers had his shirt pulled in the box.

The Spanish defender didn’t just tug the striker’s jersey, he ripped part of it away - yet the Bosnian referee turned a blind eye.

And from that moment you wondered if Athletic were destined to go all the way to the final in their home city.

Rid faced

You have to feel for Ridvan Yilmaz.

Firstly, there’s nothing worse, as a natural left-back, when you’re asked to operate on the opposite side of the pitch.

When you constantly have to turn inside on to your stronger foot, it can be difficult to produce your best performances.

And in Athletic Bilbao’s flying machine, Nico Williams, Yilmaz had to try and cope with one of the best in Europe last night.

From the off, Williams was determined to go at the Rangers full-back and a cheeky nutmeg early on was a warning sign.

For 22 minutes, Yilmaz was toiling against the Spaniard who scored and was man of the match in the Euro 2024 Final against England.

The Turk’s night got even worse when he chased Williams down the line and pulled a hamstring.

That saw him subbed off by Ferguson, which caused a bit of chaos in the Gers dug-out.

It involved a tactical reshuffle and the manager had a job trying to get instructions on.

At one point, John Souttar was clearly asking: ‘What are we doing’. Eventually, James Tavernier was switched to right-back, Rangers got back into shape - and Yilmaz’s misery was complete.