UEFA love ‘outrageous’ Rangers vs Fenerbahce moment that kept Europa League tie alive

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Rangers will be hoping for more of the same against Fenerbahce after a near faultless display in Turkey.

Even the goal that was conceded was one where you just have to applaud with the defence not doing much wrong as Jose Mourinho’s side equalised.

Barry Ferguson’s tactical masterclass earned a lot of the plaudits, as did the performances of players like Cyriel Dessers and Nicolas Raskin, but to a man, it was as impressive a collective effort as had been seen all season.

With 50,000 fans behind them at Ibrox, there are no excuses for a similar level of intensity, although one man must remain calm amid what is sure to be a frantic night for Rangers.

He didn’t have that much to do, but Jack Butland was immense, redeeming himself for recent mistakes at domestic level by reminding everyone that he is still Rangers No.1 and still a top-class goalkeeper who has earned yet more praise for his first leg intervention with the score at 1-1. 

• READ MORE: Who is Jack Butland? Inside life of the super Rangers No1 goalkeeper

UEFA in Jack Butland love in after Rangers star heroics

Posting on X, the UEFA Europa League’s official account has labelled Butland’s stop from Edin Dzeko as “outrageous” and it is hard to argue with them. 

Not only was the former England international’s handling at set-pieces secure, but this save, and another in the 90^th minute were the difference in a game that Rangers really should have been out of sight in.

They certainly made up for the incident that saw Robin Propper have to be replaced by the evergreen and colossal Leon Balogun, who repelled everything that was thrown into the box. 

The 32-year old will need to be at his best, especially in terms of commanding his area, if Rangers are to progress to the quarter-finals.

Is Butland taking the blame for Rangers inconsistency?

Butland has suffered a dip in form this season, however, it’s not all been his fault.

Every possible combination of centre-half pairing has been thrown together at one point or another with at least 11 combinations used throughout the season for varying amounts of minutes. 

A quick look at Rangers last title success and there was very little rotation other than between Balogun and Filip Helander in terms of any regularity.

It’s a well-known football cliche that goals win games, but defences win championships and the present one is miles off what is needed for a variety of reasons. 

Other than when Balogun and John Souttar play together, there simply isn’t enough physicality or awareness of what it takes to dominate in Scotland.

On a lot of occasions, Rangers have gone to difficult away grounds with three out of the back four having never experienced how raucous it can be.

There are a lot of problems in the team, Butland isn’t one of them, the positions in front of him are though.