Rangers smash up the playoff script to land Europa League golden ticket – 5 talking points from Ibrox glory night

Rangers stormed into the Europa League last 16 by seeing off Union St-Gilloise at Ibrox.

Philippe Clement's side defied the odds to finish in the top eight thanks to goals from Nico Raskin and Vaclav Cerny - and FIVE other results elsewhere going in their favour. Gers had already booked their place in the knock-out play-offs next month before kicking a ball against the Belgians. But after picking up another three points, they'll now avoid that scenario and go straight through to a last-16 tie in March.

It was a tense night for supporters who were desperately trying to keep track of what was happening all over Europe. But Rangers did their job with Raskin breaking the deadlock in the first half and Cerny doubling their lead after the break. USG pulled a goal back through Kevin MacAllister which meant a nervy last 20 minutes for the fans and Rangers bench. But Clement's men held on and with scores going their way, they secured an unlikely progression to the lucrative round of 16. Here are 5 talking points from Ibrox.

Say what you like about Rangers in the Scottish Premiership but on a Thursday night in the Europa League, they find a way to get results. It’s been that way for a few years now at Ibrox and Clement has just carried on the tradition - irrespective of how they might be performing domestically. They were missing several key men through injury and ineligibility. So much so that Tavernier had to fill in at centre-half and winger Ross McCausland was at right-back. The Belgians came to Glasgow in decent form having beat Braga last time out and DID pose a threat here. In fact, how they hadn’t scored after an hour was a mystery after poor finishing, a disallowed goal and Tavernier’s goal-line clearance. But even when