Jack Butland sent Jose Mourinho home to think again as he kept Rangers’ Europa League dream alive with two saves in a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Fenerbahce.
Two goals from Sebastian Szymanski had wiped out the Ibrox side’s 3-1 lead from the first leg in Istanbul. However, with the tie level on aggregate at 3-3 and neither side able to find a goal in extra time, it went to penalties where goalkeeper Butland made superb stops from Dusan Tadic and Fred.
Ianis Hagi also had his spot-kick saved but, when Mert Hakan Yandas sent his effort wildly over the bar, interim boss Barry Ferguson’s side had secured a quarter final with Athletic Bilbao.
Hero Butland told TNT Sports after the 3-2 shootout victory: ‘The boys dug deep and this is the reward we got, it’s what the fans deserve.
‘We are something special. I wanted to put something up for the guys, I wanted to get it done. You can’t top this feeling.
‘We fully believed we were going to get the job done. We could have been more clinical but, boy, we deserved this.’
Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho cuts a frustrated figure on the touchline at Ibrox
Keeper Jack Butland pulls off a crucial save to deny Fenerbahce’s Fred in the penalty shootout
Rangers captain James Tavernier and manager Barry Ferguson celebrate a famous night
It was a sensational victory for Ferguson’s side after Mourinho had played his usual mind games before the match by insisting Fenerbahce were the better side despite their first-leg loss.
They still inflicted a 2-0 defeat on Rangers — the first time the Ibrox side have ever lost four games in a row at home in their history — but Mourinho could do nothing as he watched Butland emerge as the shootout hero on one of the great European nights in Govan.
Ecstatic boss Ferguson said: ‘I’m proud of the players and I’m just delighted for the club as whole.
‘It was nerve-wracking. Looking back on the game, you get so involved on the sidelines but I think there were a couple of things we could have done better for the goals.
‘However, they showed character in abundance tonight and we have to do that going forward. Overall I’m just delighted to get into the quarters.
‘One thing I think has been missing is character. One thing the players are doing is they’re listening. We’ve still got to work at a lot of things but that tonight is what my teams are built on.
‘I was delighted with how we finished the game and then you go into penalties and I’m delighted for Jack. He showed his quality.’
A defeated Mourinho insisted Fenerbahce were still the better team despite crashing out of the tournament.
‘We deserved to win over 90 minutes, we deserved to win after 120 minutes, we were the best team by far,’ he said.
‘In the first match I was honest and I had enough to say that we made mistakes, we deserved to lose but, in this match, I also have to be honest and say we were the best team by far.
‘We did everything to win. The ref and the VAR decided that we should go to penalties.’
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