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'Extraordinary' Unirea thrill Bilasco

Marius Bilasco described FC Unirea Urziceni's 4-1 win at Rangers FC as "something extraordinary" after the Romanian champions recovered from conceding early to record their first win in Europe.

Marius Bilasco (left) celebrates his goal with Pablo Brandán
Marius Bilasco (left) celebrates his goal with Pablo Brandán ©Getty Images

Marius Bilasco said his dream had come true after scoring his first UEFA Champions League goal and setting FC Unirea Urziceni on their way to a stunning 4-1 win over Rangers FC at Ibrox, the club's first victory in European competition.

'Unbelievable'

It looked as though it was going to be a long evening for Dan Petrescu's side when Ricardo Vilana deflected a Pedro Mendes shot into his own net after less than 90 seconds. But the Romanian champions responded through Bilasco and, after Steven Davis had missed a penalty, two more own goals from substitute Kyle Lafferty and Lee McCulloch put the visitors in control. Pablo Brandán then put the seal on a memorable result with 25 minutes remaining. "It's unbelievable and I can't explain what I'm feeling at this moment," Bilasco told uefa.com. "Something extraordinary happened tonight. It's a dream come true for me to score my first goal in the Champions League."

Petrescu praise
The win in Glasgow, which took Unirea up to second in Group G on four points from three games, is the latest chapter in their remarkable rise. Three seasons after being promoted to Liga 1, the least experienced team on the European stage in this term's competition are celebrating their first UEFA Champions League success. Bilasco was one of the first players brought in by Petrescu when he took charge in 2006 and the 28-year-old striker was quick to acknowledge the role of his coach. "I'm glad for him," he said. "He puts his heart into everything he does. I came to Unirea a few years ago and each year we keep getting better and better. We hope he stays with us for many years to come."

Range of emotions
Bruno Fernandes experienced a whole gamut of emotions having given away the first-half penalty which Daniel Tudor saved before being involved in the goal which gave Unirea the lead early in the second half. After seeing his side come from a goal behind to claim their first European victory, the Portuguese defender is now setting his sights on qualifying for the knockout stages. "We're all very happy because it's a result no one expected," the 30-year-old told uefa.com. "To win 4-1 here in Glasgow against Rangers is an amazing achievement for us. Now we hope we can keep on having good results and see where it takes us."

Nervousness
For Rangers it was a second successive 4-1 home defeat following a similar reverse against Sevilla FC on Matchday 2 and captain David Weir revealed nerves had played a part after taking an early lead. "There was nervousness when we were in possession of the ball," said the 39-year-old, whose side prop up Group G with one point from three matches. "We never looked comfortable even when we were in front. I wish I knew the answer but it's something we need to address and if we don't we'll continue to get punished."