Spurs come from behind to hold Rangers in breathless Europa League tie

Rangers and Tottenham Hotspur both moved a step closer to the Europa League knockout stages after they played out a captivating draw at Ibrox.

Hamza Igamane gave the hosts the lead just 81 seconds into the second half with a fine finish from James Tavernier's cross, before Dejan Kulusevski equalised for Tottenham with a low left-footed drive after a superb team move.

Both sides had chances to win a gripping contest on Glasgow's southside - none more so than when Cyriel Dessers was denied by Fraser Forster late on - but some last-ditch defending and sharp goalkeeping kept it at 1-1.

The result takes both sides to 11 points, with Rangers eighth and Tottenham ninth in the table, as they fight for an automatic place in the competition's last 16.

Tottenham - led by former Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou - are now winless in five following their 4-0 victory against Manchester City last month.

They go to beleaguered Southampton in the Premier League on Sunday in desperate need of a win, while Rangers face Celtic on the same day in the Premier Sports Cup final.

Rangers were not fazed by the visit of Premier League opposition, nor the return of an old foe in Postecoglou.

They have delivered their best performances this season in Europe, and they took the game to Tottenham, with a raucous home crowd behind them.

Philippe Clement's side played with tempo and bite in the opening stages, and Forster was called into action to tip over Nedim Bajrami's powerful effort.

Vaclav Cerny was heavily involved throughout the first half, getting into the opposition box and shooting whenever the opportunity arose.

Rangers were slightly unfortunate to not lead at half-time, but they started the second period in stunning fashion.

Tavernier whipped a delightful ball in behind the Tottenham defence and into Igamane's path, and the Moroccan striker calmly stroked in a first-time finish.

Rangers continued to look dangerous on the break, with Cerny and Mohamed Diomande both going close.

However, they could not find a second and Kulusevski's strike brought the home support back down to earth.

There was still a glorious chance for Dessers to win it late on, but Forster denied the substitute after he had left two defenders for dead.

Clement will be frustrated by the result, but will take huge heart from the performance before they take on rivals Celtic at Hampden.

He could well be without centre-back John Souttar though, who came off in the first half with an apparent groin injury.

Tottenham and Postecoglou came to Glasgow under pressure after they threw away at two-goal lead against Chelsea on Sunday, amid criticism of Postecoglou's unbending commitment to his attacking philosophy.

The Australian is dealing with multiple injuries, which required 18-year-old Archie Gray to line up as a makeshift centre-back, and they were comfortably second best in the first half.

There was a lack of composure in the final third, a lack of energy and a carelessness in possession, as they played like a side burdened by external pressure.

Postecoglou's frustration was shown by the half-time introduction of the standout Kulusevski in place of Timo Werner, who the manager was scathing about afterwards.

He then threw on Dominic Solanke on the hour having seen his side fall behind, and the two replacements combined to great effect.

Kulusevski slid Solanke into the box and got on the end of the striker's cutback, before firing a low drive back across Jack Butland and into the back of the net.

The goal gave the visitors a much-needed boost, with only an excellent challenge from Tavernier denying Solanke inside the box.

On this evidence, Postecoglou urgently needs reinforcements in January in order to return to winning ways and silence the critics.

Rangers manager Philippe Clement: "I'm very proud about the performance because it's the way we want to see football being played.

"Also if you see where this group of players is coming from, from a few months ago and making performances like this now, it is a big, big step forward.

"On the other side, I'm also disappointed we didn't take the three points. That would have been the result we deserved with the performance the players gave.

"Football is about wanting to win, this club is about that. I saw the same thing in my dressing room, and there I am happy I felt they were not satisfied with the draw."

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou: "A tough game as expected, obviously with the atmosphere in the stadium.

"When they score straight after half-time the energy levels obviously go up and it's going to be a tough one to claw back, but I thought we worked our way back in well.

"I thought the substitutes made a difference and we scored a good goal, had other good moments and a great save by Fraser [Forster] at the end.

"In the context of where we are in Europe, an important point."