Rangers make late surge into last 16 as Raskin and Cerny goals sink Union SG

Rangers claimed the eighth and final direct place in the last 16 of the Europa League with a nervy win over their Belgian visitors at Ibrox. The midfielder Nicolas Raskin scored his first goal of the season with a header and the fit-again winger Vaclav Cerny doubled that lead soon after the break. Sébastien Pocognoli’s side, who started the night on 11 points, the same as their hosts, had their chances and the defender Kevin Mac Allister reduced the deficit late on but Rangers held out for the win they needed.

Several other results had to go Rangers’ way in order for them to go straight through to the last 16, and they did with Philippe Clement’s side finishing in eighth with 14 points. They will take on either Fenerbahce, Twente, Bodø/Glimt or Anderlecht in early March with the draw taking place on Friday. Before the game there was the possibility Rangers could have ended the night anywhere from fifth to 23rd in the table. Both sides had qualified for the knockout playoffs at least, which took some tension away from the game.

Lazio finished top of the Europa League's opening league phase despite a 1-0 defeat at Braga. The hosts got the only goal in the sixth minute as Ricardo Horta fired home from Victor Gómez's cross – but it was not enough to send them through as they missed a playoff place on goal difference. Athletic Bilbao finished second after a 3-1 home win over Viktoria Plzen, with Nico Williams [pictured] opening the scoring after 25 minutes. Roma's 2-0 home win over Eintracht Frankfurt earned the Italians a seeded playoff spot, Angeliño and Eldur Shomurodov goals forcing Frankfurt down to fifth.

Lyon, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Ludogorets, and Olympiakos, who saw off bottom side Qarabag 3-0 with Ayoub El Kaabi striking twice, complete the top eight with Manchester United, Tottenham and Rangers. Bodø/Glimt let a last-16 place slip as they conceded an equaliser away to eliminated Nice. Hoffenheim earned a dramatic 4-3 win at Anderlecht, but it was not enough to keep the visitors' European bid alive. Tom Bischof and Adam Hlozek helped Hoffenheim take a 4-1 lead, but Anderlecht fought back and missed a late chance to level from a corner and take the final last-16 place from Rangers.

Twente advanced at the expense of Besiktas, Daan Rots' 76th-minute winner earning a home win in a game where both teams needed three points to advance. José Mourinho's Fenerbahce clung on to the very last unseeded playoff spot after letting a two-goal lead slip to draw 2-2 at Midtjylland. Ajax climbed above Galatasaray among the seeded playoff teams with a 2-1 home win, Kian Fitz-Jim finishing a quick break for what proved to be the decisive goal. Real Sociedad finished in 13th, between those two sides, as Orri Óskarsson's double defeated PAOK Salonika.

Porto edged into the playoffs with a 1-0 win at Maccabi Tel Aviv, ending the hosts' faint chances of progress. Ferencvaros secured their playoff place with a 4-3 win over AZ Alkmaar, Mohamed Ben Romdhane's double giving the hosts a 4-1 lead before two consolation goals in stoppage time. Guardian sport. With Ianis Hagi and Clinton Nsiala not included in the European squad, Cerny returned along with the centre-back Leon King, who made his first start of the season albeit at right-back, with the captain and usual right-back James Tavernier moving into the middle of the defence.

There were only minutes played when King, earlier treated for a head knock, had to come off, his place taken by Ross McCausland, who soon picked up a booking to make the rest of the game precarious. However, Rangers steadied themselves and in the 18th minute their striker Cyriel Dessers headed a looping Tavernier free-kick wide of the target. Moments later Tavernier worked a short corner on the left with Cerny, whose cross to the back post was headed in by an unmarked Raskin for the simplest of openers.

In the 29th minute the USG striker Franjo Ivanovic poked the ball past Jack Butland, after the hesitant Rangers defenders failed to deal with a long free-kick into their box but after a long VAR check, the Polish referee Damian Sylwestrzak signalled offside. It was a let off for the home side and encouragement for their opponents, although Dessers had the ball in the net just before the break only to be ruled offside. Just before the break Mohammed Fuseini came close to levelling as he knocked a cross from Ousseynou Niang just past the near post but Clement’s team went into the interval in a tantalising ninth place.

Rangers were let off the hook again soon after the break when Tavernier brilliantly blocked a drive from Fuseini, who had rounded Butland, and Ivanovic somehow missed the target from the loose ball. Sign up to Football Daily. Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football. after newsletter promotion. However, a driving run by Dessers down the left in the 55th minute ended with the Nigeria striker cutting the ball back for Cerny to finish from 14 yards, giving Rangers a much-needed cushion, before he smashed a shot from 25 yards against the post.