Oihan Sancet and Nico Williams were on target as Athletic Bilbao beat Rangers 2-0 at San Mames to punch their ticket to the Europa League semi-finals.

Having been held by 10-man Rangers at Ibrox last week, it looked like being another frustrating outing for Ernesto Valverde's men.

But Sancet's penalty deep into first-half stoppage time saw the LaLiga side make the breakthrough and Spain's Euro 2024 hero Williams ensured there was no way back for the visitors.

For Rangers and interim boss Barry Ferguson, their season is essentially done, with an unlikely Europa League triumph their last chance to salvage something from a hugely underwhelming campaign.

Sancet was denied by Ridvan Yilmaz's stunning goal-saving block and Alex Berenguer bent wide as Athletic pummelled Rangers early doors.

Williams inexplicably steered wide after great skill from Maroan Sannadi but Rangers' luck ran out when John Souttar clattered Sannadi in the area on the stroke of half-time, with Sancet going low to the left to open the scoring.

Rangers did find more joy in the second half and Nico Raskin's close-range effort struck the left-hand post shortly before the hour.

But it was game over when star man Williams made it 2-0 with a thumping header with 10 minutes left to play, Hamza Igamane dragging wide in injury time as Rangers failed to muster a consolation.

Data debrief: Rangers on six-year worst run

Failure to win here means Rangers have now failed to win four straight matches in all competitions (L2, D2), their worst run since a streak of five under Steven Gerrard in 2019.

Captain James Tavernier made his 63rd major European appearance for Rangers, taking him ahead of John Greig and into outright second spot and behind only Allan McGregor (78), but it is not a night he will want to remember.

Defeat means Rangers have been eliminated at the quarter-final stage of a European campaign for the first time since the 1987-88 European Cup against FCSB (lost 3-2 on aggregate).

Conversely, Athletic have reached the semi-finals of a major European competition for the first time since the 2011-12 Europa League under Marcelo Bielsa.