Allan McGregor produced a man-of-the-match display as Rangers lost 2-1 against Red Star Belgrade in Serbia but progressed to the Europa League quarter-finals 4-2 on aggregate.
Ryan Kent was Rangers' goalscoring hero on the night as his deflected shot 11 minutes into the second half took the sting out of Red Star's recovery mission, fuelled by Mirko Ivanic's instinctive early finish.
Substitute El Fardou Ben Nabouhane scored from the penalty spot deep into stoppage time after Glen Kamara fouled Filippo Falco to ensure the hosts won on the night but the damage had already been done during the first leg.
Rangers arrived in Serbia defended a 3-0 lead following goals from James Tavernier, Alfredo Morelos and Leon Balogun on a famous night last week at Ibrox. This was their 50th match of season but Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side were caught in an early storm with Ivanic shaving into the deficit after just 10 minutes.
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It was a poor concession as Guelor Kanga's corner from the right evaded Morelos and Kamara didn't react quick enough as Ivanic breathed life into the tie. A big hand from Allan McGregor denied Ivanic a second before Milan Pavkov dragged another presentable opportunity wide.
The Ibrox club had the chance to reach the last eight of the Europa League for the first time since they went all the way to the final in 2008, but they were indebted to veteran goalkeeper McGregor after his sublime save to deny Red Star a second before the break through Cristiano Piccini's curling effort.
Rangers' 2,000 travelling fans were drowned out by a partisan home crowd at the Marakana, and the visitors threatened sporadically in the opening period as Morelos fired wide after being sent through by Kamara.
Red Star had never lost a home European match including qualifiers against a Scottish side in their six previous meetings, with Rangers accounting for three of those games, and McGregor was called into action within three minutes of the restart from Kanga's glancing header.
A route one ball over the top moments later resulted in Ohi Omoijuanfo shrugging off Calvin Bassey but he was unable to set up Pavkov for a simple finish.
In Europa League history since the 2009/10 season, the only side to overturn a deficit of three or more goals in the first leg of a knockout tie was Valencia against FC Basel in the 2013/14 quarter-final - winning the second leg 5-0 having lost the first encounter 3-0.
Rangers were thankful to McGregor on three more occasions at the start of the second half as he kept out Kanga's glancing header while Ivanic and Ben Nabouhane were both also frustrated by the veteran goalkeeper as Red Star sought to build up a head of steam.
But Kent's cool finish albeit via a heavy deflection off Aleksandar Dragovic ensured Ben Nabouhane's late spot-kick was merely a blemish on an otherwise memorable evening in the Serbian capital for the Scottish champions.
Kent: You create your own luck
Rangers midfielder Ryan Kent told BT Sport:
"It was incredible - the fans all around us were amazing. It's a huge game to play in, so to get into the next round tops it all off. We came here to win today. Every game we want to win but our ultimate goal was to progress into the next round. We had a game plan and the boys stuck to it. Shout of to Ryan Jack and Glen Kamara due to the amount of running they did in midfield. It was exceptional.
"We kept it nice and compact at the back looking to catch them on the counter-attack at times. We got a lucky break, I got a bit of luck in the end with my goal. You create your own luck in football. The boys stuck together, we defended as a team and we attacked as a team so we've come away with what we wanted.
"We know now we're up against some very good teams and this stage of the competition where teams can punish you if you have lapses of concentration. We've shown we can get goals in these games."
Man of the match: Allan McGregor
Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst said of McGregor's display: "At moments, he needs to be there. He had some good saves again so I'm really happy with his performance and what he gives to the team.
"At his age, he's still important for us so I'm very happy for him - and for every player."
At 40 years and 45 days, Rangers' McGregor is the oldest goalkeeper to make at least 11 saves in a Europa League game, while it's the most in the knockout stages of the competition since Karl-Johan Johnsson against Man Utd in August 2020 (13).
Van Bronckhorst proud of 'great achievement'
Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst told BT Sport:
"We're very proud as it's a great achievement to go through and reach the last eight of the Europa League. We knew it was going to be difficult and we actually started really well. They weren't in the game but one set-piece and they got the belief. When you score early this happens but in the second half we scored at the right moment.
"They were pushing us and if they'd scored again it would've been really hard but at 1-1 you saw the belief for them got weaker. We could've scored a second one as well but we defended really well in the second half.
"They were looking for a ball in behind the defence all the time so we pushed Calvin [Bassey] inside to play three against two and I felt it worked really well in the second half.
"I'm more than happy with everyone involved with this club that we're through."
Opta stats
- Including qualifiers, Rangers have now failed to win any of their five away games against Serbian sides in Europe (D1 L4); only at Spanish sides (P13 - D3 L10) have they visited more often without winning.
- Rangers have now won only one of their last six UEFA Europa League away games (D3 L2), while they have conceded in each of their last seven such games; excluding qualifiers, it's their longest such run in major European competition since September 1999 (run of 13).
- Since the start of last season, only Bayer Leverkusen (9) have scored more goals from set pieces (ex. penalties) in the UEFA Europa League than Crvena Zvezda (8).
- All four of Ryan Kent's UEFA Europa League goals have come in the knockout stages. Since 2018-19, no Rangers player has scored more goals in the knockout stages than him (James Tavernier also 4).
What's next?
The Europa League quarter-final and semi-final draws will take place on Friday, March 18 at 12pm UK time, with the balls being drawn out at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. You will be able to follow all three draws across Sky Sports' digital platforms.
Rangers return to Scottish Premiership action on Sunday at Dundee, live on Sky Sports Football; kick-off 12pm.