Rangers crash out as Athletic progress | OneFootball

Nico Williams’ late strike ultimately shattered Rangers’ Europa League ambitions as Athletic Bilbao advanced to the semi-finals, keeping alive their pursuit of lifting the trophy on home turf.

Having held out for a 0-0 stalemate at Ibrox — despite playing the majority of the first leg with a man down — Rangers required an almost flawless display against the fourth-placed team in La Liga, and remained in contention with just 11 minutes on the clock.

But the breakthrough came when Spain international Williams nodded in Oscar De Marco’s superb delivery, putting an end to Rangers’ hopes of reaching a second final in four years. That came after Oihan Sancet’s penalty in added time at the end of the first half opened the scoring.

Conceding on the stroke of half-time was a harsh setback for Barry Ferguson’s men, though in fairness, it reflected the control Athletic had exerted in the opening period.

John Souttar was adjudged to have fouled Maroan Sannadi in the lead-up to the spot-kick, and although Rangers emerged after the interval with more purpose, the uphill battle remained.

Injuries to key defenders Ridvan Yilmaz and Leon Balogun didn’t help matters, but Rangers managed to retain possession more effectively and nearly found a leveller when Nicolas Raskin’s effort from close range was brilliantly pushed onto the post by keeper Julen Agirrezabala.

That near miss will likely linger in the minds of fans, just as much as a contentious moment earlier in the game when the score was still level.

Cyriel Dessers was pulled back in the area by Dani Vivian to the point where “his shirt was ripped,” yet the officials ruled the contact “as fleeting,” denying Rangers a penalty and a potential red card.

Outside of that tense episode and Raskin’s narrow miss, however, Athletic looked largely untroubled at the back — and their vision of Europa League glory at San Mames edges ever closer.