Liam Kelly became the hero by saving a penalty as Rangers, with 10 players, managed to secure a goalless draw against Athletic Bilbao in an exciting Europa League quarter-final match at Ibrox.
Barry Ferguson decided to replace criticized goalkeeper Jack Butland with the Scotland international, Kelly, who made a sensational save in the 79th minute from a penalty taken by Alex Berenguer.
However, early in the match in the 13th minute, former Rangers captain Robin Propper was shown a red card for a challenge on Inaki Williams, after initially receiving a yellow card.
Despite playing with a man down, Rangers defended bravely against Ernesto Valverde’s team, enduring 12 minutes of added time and setting up an intriguing second leg in Spain next Thursday – a display that would please Ferguson for his players' commitment and effort.
After a disappointing defeat to Hibernian over the weekend at Ibrox, former captain Ferguson had promised significant changes with two players suspended, center-back John Souttar and midfielder Mohamed Diomande.
Aside from the goalkeeper switch, Ferguson also made other alterations by introducing Propper, Balogun, Yilmaz, Rice, and Hagi, while leaving out Butland, Jefte, Connor Barron, and Hamza Igamane.
The highly-rated visitors had Nico Williams and Inaki Williams on the wings, but also rotated their squad with the return of Spain midfielder Oihan Sancet from injury.
Rangers' challenge became tougher after going down to 10 men so early in the game.
As Athletic pressed, Kelly made important saves, including denying Berenguer from close range and a penalty save which was eventually awarded after a VAR check.
The closing stages saw Rangers defending resolutely to resist Athletic's attacks, and despite finishing with nine men due to injuries, they held on for a valuable draw.