Rangers ended their UEFA Europa League campaign with a 3-1 defeat to FC Porto in the Estádio do Dragão.
Danny Rohl’s side took an early lead via Monaco target Djeidi Gassama before the hosts, unbeaten in their domestic league after 19 games, struck three goals before half time.
At 1-1 Emmanuel Fernandez made a goal stopping, last-ditch sliding challenge to emphasise why some of Germany’s top clubs have been scouting him before showing how much he still needs to develop by heading a Porto corner into his own net for Francesco Farioli's side's third goal.
On the performance, both personal and as a team, Fernandez felt it started well – before taking a downturn.
He said: “We started well, we got into the game and we took the lead. But I feel like we just took it off the gas a bit.
“We are frustrated about how we took the lead and then how we lost it towards the end.”
Despite the defeat, the former Peterborough United man was full of praise for his teammates.
“We still showed resilience and we still had to fight for the game,” he said.
“I couldn't be prouder of the boys. We still dug in, we still put in a fight.”
Porto are one of European football’s most in-form teams, with 18 victories and one draw from 19 league matches, and only two defeats across all competitions.
It was always likely to be an uphill task for the Ibrox men but Fernandez felt that they could have been there for the taking early on.
“I feel like we created chances and we had opportunities that we could have taken,” he explained.
The outcome had no impact on Rangers’ European hopes, the damage had already been done under Russell Martin, and despite a win over Ludogorets in the last matchday, the Gers were already out prior to their trip to Portugal – with attention now fully focused on their domestic battle to reclaim the Scottish Premiership title.
On the main priority for the team now Fernandez was clear: Keep up the excellent recent domestic form.
“Now we move on to the next and focus on the league,” he explained.
“We know there’s 15 games left. I feel like there’s a lot of quality in the squad and there’s a lot we can do for the rest of the season.
“We’ve got two competitions where we can do well.”
Fernandez has found himself as a mainstay in the Ibrox backline in recent months, helping the team to multiple clean sheets and scoring goals at the other end – a great showing for a player signed from England’s League One for a fee that raised many eyebrows.
The big defender pointed out the progress he had made in such a short spell.
“Coming back a year ago, I think I was playing against Exeter at home and now I’m playing against Porto away,” he said.
“I can’t be more grateful – playing these sorts of games is a different challenge, a tough challenge, but I enjoyed it.”
Fernandez and Rangers now turn their attention to faltering Hibernian – with a trip to Easter Road up next for Rohl’s title-chasing squad as they look to close the gap on Hibs’ Edinburgh rivals Hearts at the top of the table.