IN a whirlwind of positives and a concoction of emotions, there was little chance of the negatives coming to the fore at Ibrox on Thursday evening.

With the adrenaline flowing and the sound of celebrations still ringing in the ears long after the final whistle, the snapshot was always going to take greater prominence than the bigger picture. As Rangers know only too well, things can quickly change, though.

From two potentially costly blows and deflating lows, Rangers were on the ultimate high as Steven Gerrard’s side saved their Europa League ambitions in truly remarkable fashion. Staring at a heavy defeat to Braga, they somehow recovered to earn a stunning 3-2 victory that gives them more than hope heading into the second leg tomorrow evening.

The talk afterwards was rightly about the quality of Ianis Hagi’s first goal and the mesmeric run and finish from Joe Aribo. The highlight, of course, was Hagi’s winner with just minutes to go.

A stunning finale shouldn’t mask the series of fluffed lines on the big stage, however. Braga were worthy of their two goal lead as Fransergio beat Allan McGregor with a wonderful effort from range and Abel Ruiz evaded the Gers defence and finished with aplomb.

A handful of chances had been passed up in the opening stages as Braga started with real purpose and Rangers rode their luck at times as they hung in and got to the break only one goal behind. They didn’t take the warning as they lost further ground.

The scarcely believable final half hour ensured all the previous problems were somewhat forgotten about, but the lessons from the first match must be learned going into the second. If the same mistakes are made second time around, Rangers can’t rely on another frantic finish.

“It was certainly eventful on Thursday night and we did make it hard for ourselves at times losing the two goals,” captain James Tavernier said. “In the first half especially, we weren’t really on the front foot and didn’t close them down like we wanted to and you could see the difference in the second half when we were able to put them under a bit more pressure.

“We always talk about the levels that you go up in the Europa League and you know that better teams are going to be more clinical against you. You saw that with the first strike, it was an unbelievable goal.

“But the second one was disappointing to concede in terms of the way they scored. But we still had great belief and believed that we would get chances in the game.

“In the second half, we came out better and we were on the front foot, we were able to put them under more pressure.

“It was two great goals from Ianis and Joe’s was unbelievable. So we have to be happy with how it turned out.”

Braga had arrived at Ibrox in fine form having seen off Porto, Sporting Lisbon and Benfica in the weeks before their return to European action and showed why they are one of the form sides in the Primeira Liga.

Boss Ruben Amorim will have spent the journey home and recent days wondering just how his side had lost the game and handed the momentum and advantage to Rangers. The tie is far from over, though.

The high defensive line that Braga utilised at Ibrox will give Gerrard hope for the return the leg and Rangers will surely have chances to add to their tally on Wednesday evening.

Given the ease at which the Light Blues were opened up at times, it is clear where the main improvement will have to come at the Braga Municipal Stadium if a last 16 berth is to be secured.

Braga are arguably the best side that Rangers have faced on Gerrard’s watch. The challenge will be difficult, but it is not impossible in Portugal.

“Definitely, we will need that kind of second half performance over there and we will need to get after them and close them down,” Tavernier said as he reflected on 90 memorable minutes. “But we did concede in the second half and we can’t afford to do that over there.

“We will have to be tighter as a unit and as a team and stop them scoring, especially goals in the manner of the second one. We will learn from that and look at it and we can certainly go into it with confidence.

“We will have that belief that we can create chances but we need to give the front lads that opportunity and give them a good foundation.

“We let them create problems for us in the first half and you could see they are a very good team at finding pockets and passing the ball forward. As soon as we got in their faces, we were able to make it more difficult for them.

“But they were still a very good team going forward and they are definitely up there with the best teams that we have played. That was evident before the game when you look at how well they have done in their league recently.”