It was the sort of night which would have had Stuart Arfield, watching on from his punditry role, reminiscing about his best nights in a Rangers shirt on the Europa League stage.
The popular Canadian was such an important figure of a period in which Rangers claimed a pretty remarkable collection of continental scalps.
Stuart Arfield was there when Rangers triumphed against Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig to reach the 2021 Europa League final against Eintracht Frankfurt. He scored in creditable draws against Villarreal and Benfica, and was also on the winning side versus Feyenoord, Braga and FC Porto.
And, as Rangers stormed past Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce to set up a 3-1 lead ahead of next week’s return leg at Ibrox, this was a performance up there with any of the club’s finest European nights under Steven Gerrard and Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
- READ MORE: Rangers Europa League Record Since 2017
Scott Arfield delighted as Rangers storm past Fenerbahce in Turkey
“You just come to expect it,” Arfield quips while working on comms for BBC Radio Scotland. “It’s a Thursday night!
“I said it earlier on, [Rangers had to] just stay in the tie. But they’ve done more than that. Whatever Barry Ferguson and his team said before this game, you could see it was evident.”
Ferguson has not been afraid of making big decisions since returning to his beloved old employers on an interim basis following the sacking of Philippe Clement. And why not? A man who has not treaded the touchline since a brief spell at Alloa Athletic in 2022 has nothing to lose, really.
Ferguson introduced Connor Barron for his first appearance since the heartbreaking 2-1 loss at Manchester United in late-January, Ianis Hagi starting on the bench as the former Aberdeen enforcer lined up alongside Mohamed Diomande and the excellent Nico Raskin in a beefed up midfield.
Rangers legend Ally McCoist labelled Raskin ‘unbelievable’ following a typically tireless European display.
Arfield, though, was keen to highlight the influence of the returning Barron. Even without a suspended Fred and an injured Ismail Yuksek, Fenerbahce’s midfield looked strong on paper and yet Rangers took control of proceedings in the centre of the park.
Connor Barron and Cyriel Dessers praised after Istanbul triumph
“A special mention to Connor Barron,” adds Arfield, who is now back in Scotland with Falkirk after spells at Charlotte FC and Bolton Wanderers either side of the Atlantic. “His work rate is absolutely phenomenal.
“A phenomenal performance [from Rangers as a whole] and they are in the driving seat now.
“Everybody looks down on Scottish football and clubs and players that play in Scotland but it’s proven time and time again that this club rises to the occasion in Europe.
“This tie is not done. This tie is far from done. The biggest thing [for Rangers] is you need to score again.”
Cyriel Dessers opened the scoring in the blinking of an eye in Istanbul. Thus, taking his tally to 22 goals and seven assists in all competitions.
After assisting the first of Vaclav Cerny’s nightly brace, Dessers played a gorgeous ball into the path of Raskin as the Wolfsburg loanee gave Rangers a two-goal lead on aggregate.
“Sensational,” Arfield says. “What a pass. Dessers’ pass allows Raskin to come onto it like he did. Cerny then just passes it past the goalkeeper.”
