Aidan Smith

What a night it was for Rangers in Dortmund. Every player raised their game and produced one of the best performances for the Ibrox club in a long, long time. At the age of 25, the result certainly goes down as one of the best I can remember from a Scottish team in Europe during my time. Dortmund are one of Europe’s elite clubs and even though they were missing their star man Erling Haaland, their side was still full of world-class talents. 

Rangers took the game to their opponents and showed they also have some real talent within their side. Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent were such a threat in the final third and Ryan Jack and John Lundstram in the middle were outstanding.  

Other top European performances that spring to mind in recent times include Celtic’s victory over Lazio during the 2019/20 season. This was the first win for Celtic on Italian soil and it was achieved in spectacular fashion as Olivier Ntcham lobbed the keeper in the 95th minute to send the away support wild. 

St Johnstone’s draw at Galatasaray this season must also be mentioned. The gulf between the two clubs is huge and for Saints to get a result over there was special. What a moment it was for the Perth club, but it was a shame they couldn’t see the tie out back in Perth at McDiarmid Park. 

Chris Jack

The performance and the result on Thursday night will live long in the memory of those who were there and those who watched on as Rangers took control of their Europa League tie.

This was no smash and grab, backs to the wall outing. Rangers were rightly frustrated to have conceded twice and will have regrets that they didn’t win by an even greater margin at Signal Iduna Park as Dortmund were left defeated and disheartened.

It could be argued that, in terms of the tactical organisation and the way the game plan played out, the nights away to Porto and Braga under Steven Gerrard were even more impressive. On both occasions, there was a control and assuredness about the way in which Rangers played and Giovanni van Bronckhorst has to be praised for masterminding a blueprint that was just as eye-catching in Germany.

This was Rangers’ finest hour on the continent since 2008. Those occasions on the road to Manchester were ultimately more meaningful than one 90 minutes against BvB but that could change if Rangers can prolong their run in the competition this season.

And it is another result from that campaign - the terrific 3-0 victory away to Lyon - that just shades Thursday night on the list. Given the class and confirmed pedigree of that Lyon side, that was a heroic performance from Walter Smith’s side that night.

For a generation of fans, the Kings of Lyon are still top but the team that weren’t daunted in Dortmund will hold a special place in the affections for some time to come.

David Irvine

There is no denying just how impressive a result it was for Rangers last night.

There will have been plenty expecting little more than a comfortable victory for Borussia Dortmund in the Europa League clash in Germany – and if that were to be the case it wouldn’t have been a major shock.

However, Rangers were excellent; from their tactical set-up to the application of the players, it all led to the domination over the Bundesliga giants on their own turf.

Had Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men snatched a one-goal win it would still have been a superb result, but Rangers went out and controlled proceedings to take four goals off of a Champions League quality side.

This was no close match, Dortmund didn’t lay a glove outwith their two excellent finishes in the second-half and it leaves a tasty second leg next week.

However, whether this is the best Scottish result in Europe, that’s a difficult one to judge.

We’ve had our fair share of excellent results on the continent – not forgetting some to forget.

Just this year St Johnstone took a 1-1 draw away to Galatasaray which itself is a phenomenal feat – but there are things to consider including the stature of both teams involved.

As Chris mentioned, Lyon will always be a massive result in the memory of Rangers fans – and rightly so. They had no right to go out, similarly to last night, and outplay and outfight a team of supreme calibre but they did it and everyone knows the rest on the journey to Manchester in 2008.

But Celtic have their own claims for top European results in modern history boasting victories over Barcelona, AC Milan, Manchester United and Lazio – granted three  of the four were at a packed Parkhead.

Go further back and there’s the Lisbon Lions who emerged victorious over Inter Milan in the European Cup final – similarly, Aberdeen could stake a claim historically with their 1983 Cup Winners’ Cup win over Real Madrid.

Dundee United fans would be sure to mention their defeat of Barcelona in 1987 under Jim McLean too.

Last night was a special one for Rangers fans and Scottish football, but it only adds to the list of memorable nights in Europe for Scottish sides.