Despite falling at the first hurdle in the Europa League, Rangers boss Danny Rohl believes there are reasons to be optimistic for the rest of the season. 

Having taken the lead at Estadio Do Dragao, Rangers were beaten 3-1 by Porto on Thursday, with the Portuguese side sneaking into the top eight in the process. 

Three goals in 14 minutes from Rodrigo Mora, Francisco Moura and an Emmanuel Fernandez own goal cancelled out Djeidi Gassama's sixth-minute opener. 

Rangers finished the league phase in 32nd with four points, having had to wait until their penultimate European matchday for their first victory, which came against Ludogorets.

And following their defeat in Portugal, Rangers have now lost six consecutive away European games (including qualifiers), their longest losing streak on the road in Europe.

But Rohl was not downbeat in his post-match assessment, saying that his team were on the up, having seen their eight-game winning run in all competitions come to an end.

"We started well, we were on the front foot in the first 15 minutes and we played well, very brave," Rohl told TNT Sports.

"The two goals after 1-1 were too easy, this moment was the killer. They controlled the game more in the first half and we missed some moments in their half.

"We have to be brave there. Second half, we tried. We played with courage, some good football, but all in all it's a defeat.

"For me, it's about a process. I compare this to my first game in Bergen – I see a big difference. You need that extra quality, that extra final pass and that we need to work on.

"But what I have seen in the last four games a big step forward."

Rangers' downfall in this game came in the opening 45 minutes, having shipped three first-half goals for only the second time in the Europa League (also three v Lyon in October 2024) and just the eighth time in major European competition.

Indeed, Rangers conceded 26 goals in European competition this season (incl. qualifiers), with Celtic in 2021-22 the only Scottish side to ship more in a single campaign (27).

But steering away from the negatives once again, Rohl highlighted the performance of 19-year-old Findlay Curtis, who teed up Gassama's early header. 

"In the last two weeks, there's a reason why Findlay [Curtis] got more minutes – he's deserved it," Rohl added. 

"We had a good talk with him two weeks ago, and since then there's been big progress in his development.

"It is great to see this, how brave he is. It's important that at his age he gets a lot of minutes.

"I see Manny [Fernandez] with a good performance, John [Souttar] and Nasser [Djiga] the same. We have a lot of good options in defence."

Rangers will now turn their attention back to domestic action, with a trip to Easter Road to take on Hibernian awaiting them on Sunday. 

Rohl's side are second in the Scottish Premiership and four points behind leaders Hearts. They are also on a six-game winning run in the top flight.