Rangers had only lost once to Belgian opposition, on this site and against Liege some 60 years ago, and Steven Gerrard’s side approached the game on the crest of a wave following the weekend win over Celtic.
After seeing off Galatasaray to set up a group section with Benfica, Lech Poznan and tonight's hosts, the players had a platform to perform and a standard to uphold.
And they did that in some testing conditions with lashing rain and then a flooded pitch bordering on unplayable – but they saw it out with a first half James Tavernier penalty and a second-half wonder goal from Kemar Roofe.
Player ratings scale - 10: One of best performances you've seen. 9: Outstanding. 8: Very good. 7: Good. 6: Average. 5: Poor, 4: Very poor. 3: Terrible day at office. 2: Abysmal. 1: One of worst performances you've seen.
13. Calvin Bassey - 6
Just over a half on the park, offers something different to Barisic and got to grips with the wide supply eventually. Barrelling barges forward unsettled the Liege defence and almost teed up Arfield for a second. Photo: Rico Brouwer - SNS Group
14. Kemar Roofe - 8
Wonder goal is quite the re-introduction to Belgian football. Full of running when he came on and could have had a goal before he put the gloss on the win with a memorable moment of magic. Photo: Rico Brouwer - SNS Group
15. Joe Aribo - 6
Splashed his way up both wide areas as the water collected at the fringes of the pitch. More important minutes on his return to the team Photo: Craig Williamson - SNS Group