Steven Gerrard has hailed a fantastic night for his Rangers side after they beat FC Porto 2-0 in the Europa League at Ibrox, but admits the Gers showed the Portuguese outfit too much respect in the opening 45 minutes.
The two teams could not be split in the first half in what was a close encounter, but Rangers stepped up a gear in the second half in front of a packed Ibrox.
It was Alfredo Morelos who handed Rangers the lead after he controlled the ball well in the penalty box, opening the way for a superb, curling shot with his left foot which found the corner of the net.
Just four minutes later, in the 73rd minute, Steven Davis fired Rangers into a 2-0 lead to settle the nerves inside Ibrox and secure a vital three group stage points for Gerrard's men.
Rangers are now joint top of Group G with Young Boys, on seven points, with Porto and Feyenoord three points behind.
Gerrard is delighted with the display put in by Rangers but admits he feels in the first half they showed Porto too much respect.
He said on BT Sport after the match when asked if it is his best result as a manager: "It's got to be right up there. To beat a side of Porto's calibre and the quality of players that they've got, the boys deserve all the credit. The second half was fantastic.
"In the first half we showed Porto too much respect. We never backed ourselves enough.
"I think their movement in the opening stages of the game sort of set us back a bit.
"We were a little bit frightened of it, but once we settled we finished the first half quite strong and in the second half we were a totally different team", he added.
Rangers next head to play Feyenoord in the Netherlands before then welcoming Young Boys to Ibrox for their last group game.
