Rangers complete a stunning 3-2 victory away to Real Betis to secure top place in Europa League Group C and earn safe passage to the competition’s Last 16.
Thursday nights are indeed Rangers nights and once again the Ibrox squad came up big in European football’s increasingly competitive second tier trophy.
Rangers fans have gotten used to these big nights on Europa League duty and once again the club’s supporters were treated to a spectacle in Spain.
Winning for the first time against Spanish opposition on an away day trip, goals from Abdallah Sima, Cyriel Dessers and Kemar Roofe capped a fine performance from the Gers.
Here are three things we learned as Rangers overcame La Liga opposition to qualify for the Europa League knockouts.
Real Betis succumb to Rangers mentality monsters
Heading into the match Philippe Clement sensed there was something special brewing at Rangers and against Real Betis the squad didn’t disappoint.
After the match, the Rangers boss branded the victory a “statement” and claimed he was “really proud” of his heavily scrutinised charges.
This Rangers squad has found itself under the microscope all season long but with players beginning to settle and a rhythm developing Philippe Clement might well be onto something.
Claiming that he wants “a team of winners that never give up”, Rangers’ recent performances have shown flickers of the relentlessness which drives success.
Onto Aberdeen at Hampden next.
Cyriel Dessers the heir to Rangers’ Europa League throne
When Rangers lost Alfredo Morelos in the summer, the club’s record European goalscorer (29), Mr Thursday Night had left the Kings of Thursday Nights with a striking chasm.
Rangers invested heavily in their forward line this summer with Cyriel Dessers amongst the most scrutinised as the club’s new number nine.
With fellow summer acquisition Danilo out for the next few months at least, the pressure was on the Belgian-born Nigerian international to deliver in his absence.
And deliver Dessers did.
Contributing a wonderful second goal for Rangers, twisting and turning in the Real Betis box before nutmegging their goalkeeper, it was a flash of the talent that saw Michael Beale move this summer.
Also putting in a shift as an all-round battering ram in Spain, there were shades of El Búfalo in this showing and maybe Thursday nights might have a new icon.
This Rangers team’s Borussia Dortmund?
Whilst there are still several in this Rangers squad hurting from the painful penalty kicks defeat in Seville two years ago, largely this is a new look Gers.
The club’s foundation is built on those players who’ve rebuilt Rangers on the European stage and salvaged Scotland’s coefficient.
Those stars – many of them ageing now – will hope to cement that legacy with a European trophy and you get the feeling they’ve got unfinished business in the Europa League.
But for the new stars who need that added sense of belief, going away to one of Spanish football’s top sides and breaking a 12-game run of defeat to Spanish teams on Spanish soil has the potential to be a major catalyst.
Real Betis were also unbeaten at home this season – holding the mighty Real Madrid at the weekend – with Rangers’ result sending a shockwave through European football.
Given the club will skip the Champions League drop-out playoff, this has the hallmarks of that famous win away to Borussia Dortmund which kickstarted the run to Seville.
You’ll forgive Ibrox fans for starting to dream about a late May trip Dublin, a tantalising prospect from which everyone involved might never recover.
