Alfredo Morelos scored both goals as Rangers booked their place in the Europa League knockout stages with victory over Sparta Prague.

The Colombia international opened his group-stage account with a strike inside the opening quarter of an hour of Thursday's Group A contest.

He doubled the lead by capitalising on a huge defensive error early in the second half to give Giovanni van Bronckhorst a winning start at Ibrox and guarantee continental football in the New Year.

The hosts subsequently went second in Group A – three points ahead of Sparta – and progress to the knockout rounds at their opponents' expense with a superior head-to-head record.

Rangers made a strong start in the first match of Van Bronckhorst's reign, with Joe Aribo rattling the crossbar after a positive run by Ryan Kent.

And they took the lead in the 15th minute – Ianis Hagi stretching to help James Tavernier's pass into the path of Morelos, who confidently swept the ball home.

Hagi was involved again eight minutes later, but Aribo was unable to keep the ball down from his delicious cross.

Allan McGregor was then called into action at the other end with smart reflexes to deny Martin Minchev from close range.

Morelos doubled his and Rangers' tally four minutes into the second half and it was an absolute gift.

Filip Panak ludicrously opted to play the ball across his own penalty area, with the Colombian intercepting the attempted pass and heading into an empty net. 

Sparta had won six of their seven previous European matches against Scottish opposition, and looked to keep their hopes alive.

Although forcing McGregor into a wonderful double save late on, they rarely troubled Rangers, who condemned them to a ninth defeat in 11 away Europa League games.

 

What does it mean? Rangers seal the deal

Following this win and Brondby's defeat to Lyon, Rangers cannot be eclipsed in second place heading into their final Group A clash with the latter in two weeks' time.

The result was the perfect response to Saturday's Scottish League Cup semi-final defeat by St Johnstone, as they claimed only a second clean sheet in 11 attempts.

As for Sparta, they will secure a place in the Europa Conference League by avoiding defeat against Brondby.

Morelos makes his mark

Rangers' talisman fired a blank in his previous three group outings, but he broke his duck for this season on a day when it mattered most. Morelos led the way in the attacking department with game-high tallies of five shots, four shots on target and two goals.

His brace means he has now scored 13 Europa League goals since the start of the 2018-19 season – a tally only bettered during that period by Munas Dabbur (17), Bruno Fernandes (16) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (14).

Krejci isolated

While Aribo, Hagi and Kent provided constant threats for Rangers, Ladislav Krejci was unable to make a significant contribution for Sparta at the other end

Indeed, his tally of just 19 touches was the lowest recorded by any starting player for the visitors. He was substituted in the 59th minute having also only registered one shot on goal.

Key Opta Facts: Gers find their scoring touch

– Rangers have won two of their last three games in Europe (D1), after enjoying just one victory in their previous eight (D2 L5 including qualifiers).

– Sparta Prague have lost three consecutive Europa League games (excluding qualifiers) for the first time since September 2016 (also three in total).

– The Gers have scored five goals in their last three European games, one more than they managed in their previous eight (four including qualifiers).

– Morelos has scored 13 goals in European competition for Rangers (excluding qualifiers), the joint-most by any player in the club's history, level with Ralph Brand.

What’s next?

With their passage into the knockout rounds secured, the pressure is off when Rangers travel Lyon on December 9. However, Sparta must claim at least a point to keep this season's European adventure alive when they host Brondby on the same day.