Filip Helander's close-range strike earned Rangers a 1-1 draw at Slavia Prague in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie
The home side took an early lead thanks to Nicolae Stanciu's stunning strike, only for Rangers to draw level against the run of play via Helander's 36th-minute tap-in as the visitors grabbed a crucial away goal
And Steven Gerrard's side saw out the rest of the clash to hold the advantage ahead of the second leg at Ibrox a week on Thursday
Rangers arrived in the Czech capital buoyed by their Scottish Premiership title win on the weekend, but at the same time determined to make this special season even more memorable by maintaining their interest in Europe
But against opponents who last lost a home in Europe to Inter Milan two years ago, the visitors knew just what a tough challenge awaited them at the Eden Arena - and that realisation soon became apparent as Slavia took a seventh-minute lead
There appeared little danger when Peter Olayinka found Stanciu on the left edge of the box, only for the Romanian to cut inside to make some space, before finding the top right-hand corner of the net with an exquisite curler that left Allan McGregor rooted to his line
The visitors appeared leggy and off the pace in the first quarter of the contest, perhaps a legacy of their weekend celebrations, only to equalise nine minutes before half-time with their first attempt on goal
Rangers curled a free-kick into the heart of the area and the ball fortunately ricocheting off Connor Goldson to the unmarked Ianis Hagi at the far post, with the forward then simply laying a goal on a plate for Helander, who could not miss from virtually on the goal line
If the visitors were lucky to go in level at the break, they produced a much-improved display in the second period, with Ryan Kent forcing a brilliant stop from Slavia goalkeeper Ondrej Kolar midway through the half
However, Rangers were ultimately indebted to McGregor, 39, to earn them a share of the spoils after the veteran 'keeper pulled off a miraculous last-minute reaction stop to keep out substitute Lukas Masopust's close-range bullet header
And we will find out just how important that late save will prove to be when the two teams go head to head in the second leg a week today
 "I think it was a fair result and I think we have given everything tonight from a physical point of view after the week that we have had
"This was probably the toughest opposition that we could have faced because they play at a real high intensity and they are a powerful team that came out of the blocks extremely quickly
"After a poor start, or a slow start, I thought we did ever so well to get back in the game and we have had some chances, they have had some chances and I think overall it is a fair result that sets us up for next week
"Listen, at this stage it is very difficult to get results
 You only have to look at Scottish history to be aware of that
"We were coming up against a team with a fantastic home record, domestically unbeaten
 So we knew the challenge was very big against a powerful team who like to play at a high intensity
"We needed to be ready for that, but after the week we had it was quite tough
 Credit to the players, they rolled their sleeves up and dug in
"The towering centre back not only turned in an accomplished and polished display at the back for Rangers on Thursday, helping to keep the Slavia Prague attackers largely at bay
However, the Sweden international also popped up in the right place, at the right time, to score perhaps the easiest goal of his career, but also maybe one of the most important to help earn his team a valuable 1-1 draw in Prague, and a key away goal as well
And if Helander and his fellow defenders can keep the Czechs just as quiet next week, then Rangers will be in with a great chance of progressing to the quarter-finals of Europe's second-tier competition
Both sides meet again for the second leg at Ibrox next Thursday, with the game kicking off at 8pm
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