Rangers - 2 Vfb Stuttgart - 1:Alex McLeish, the Rangers manager, preached the importance of patience before this match. Last night in a stadium so raucous it made that quality difficult to find, Rangers nevertheless displayed the virtue to win their first Champions League game for three years.
Trailing to a Kenin Kuranyi strike seconds before half-time, and with Stuttgart bright and inventive, Rangers clawed their way back into contention and two goals in five minutes, from the German Christian Nerlinger and substitute Peter Lovenkrands - spectacularly beating two men and shooting from 25 yards - gave Rangers three precious points.
It will also give them belief when they travel to Panathinaikos in a fortnight.
While this could have been seen as the middle instalment of a Scottish-German mini-tournament following Germany v Scotland last week and Bayern Munich v Celtic this evening, some of the nationalism was taken out of the occasion by Rangers fielding a team without a Scotsman in it.
There was one English-speaker, at least, Michael Ball. The former Everton player was on the left side of a back three that quickly became a four when Fernando Ricksen pedalled backwards.
In a rhythmic, open first 15 minutes, Emerson and Michael Mols were prominent for Rangers, but it was from Ricksen's defensive area that the night's first chance originated.
The Germans stepped into a groove and when Alexander Hleb was felled by Nerlinger 30 yards out Marcelo Bordon stepped up. Bordon's free-kick crashed against Stefan Klos's post but the rebound ran to Kuranyi who side-footed the ball in.
In an attempt to re-establish some attacking authority, McLeish withdrew the ineffectual Paolo Vanoli and brought on Lovenkrands after the interval.
Dangerously and accurately, the visitors were playing on the break. Hleb and Kuranyi were central to most of their moves but there was an all-round confidence.
Rangers were finding it increasingly hard to find passing room against a side defending ever deeper but then with 16 minutes left the sheer numbers in Stuttgart's area caused mayhem and ping-pong. Mols was there ready to pounce but the ball fell to Nerlinger and with 'keeper Timo Hildebrand well off his line, Nerlinger struck the ball home. Ibrox was bouncing.
And it had yet to witness Lovenkrands' goal.
Guardian Service
RANGERS: Klos, Ricksen (Ross 32), Berg, Khizanishvili, Ball, Emerson (Capucho 65), Arteta, Nerlinger, Vanoli (Lovenkrands 46), Arveladze, Mols. Subs Not Used: McGregor, Ostenstad, Malcolm, Hughes. Booked: Emerson, Nerlinger. Goals: Nerlinger 74, Lovenkrands 79.
VFB STUTTGART: Hildebrand, Hinkel, Meira, Bordon, Gerber (Szabics 81), Hleb, Soldo, Tiffert, Heldt (Meissner 69), Kuranyi, Cacau (Amanatidis 47). Subs Not Used: Heinen, Wenzel, Vranjes, Lahm. Booked: Hleb, Heldt. Goals: Kuranyi 45.
Referee: Gilles Veissiere (France).
