STEVEN Gerrard last night lauded Ianis Hagi for producing the magic that enabled Rangers to pull off a remarkable comeback against Braga at Ibrox – in front of his famous footballing father Gheorghe. 

Gerrard’s men appeared to be heading for a painful defeat in the first leg of the Europa League last 32 double header when they fell two goals behind to their Portuguese rivals after an hour.

However, Hagi, who only joined the Glasgow club on loan from Genk last month, struck twice in the space of 15 minutes to help ensure the home side recorded a thrilling 3-2 triumph.

Gerrard, whose substitute Joe Aribo also netted, singled out the Romanian playmaker for special praise at the end of the 90 minutes and revealed his legendary dad had been in attendance.

“Ianis is an outstanding talent,” he said. “That stage is made for him. There is a lot of pressure on him. His dad was in the crowd for the first time at Ibrox.

“But he has not just got fight in him he has got talent. He provided the magic and the spark for us to get back in the game. His first goal was with his weaker foot apparently. To have the audacity to try his luck from 30 yards out for the winner was incredible.

“I am still waiting for my heart rate to calm down a little bit. It was a fantastic game of football. We have beaten a really good dangerous team tonight. I am really proud of my players – the character and effort and desire they put in was incredible.

“This is what Ibrox deserves and what this club deserves. At 2-0 there were people leaving a bit of negativity behind the dugout. But in European football magical nights happen. I have experienced them before as a player and I hope to experience many more in future.”

Gerrard will be without his leading scorer Alfredo Morelos for the return leg in the Estadio Municipal de Braga next Wednesday after the Colombian picked up a booking for dissent in the first-half.

However, the Liverpool and England great is convinced his team can travel abroad and get the result they need to progress to the last 16 of the competition.  

“The tie is set up really well,” he said. “It is only half-time. You don’t want to be missing plyers like Alfredo with the quality he has got. But we proved tonight if we show our quality and our strengths we can create against this team.

“We know we are going to have a big challenge in Portugal. Nobody in my dressing room is getting carried away. But what we have done tonight is put ourselves in a good position.”