Madjid Bougherra grabbed the headlines for all the right reasons when he marked his Champions League debut with a goal as Rangers claimed a point from their Group G opener in Stuttgart.

The defender made amends for his red card at the weekend with a lovely strike late on to secure a draw for the Scottish champions at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

It had looked like being a difficult night for Rangers when Pavel Pogrebniak - who missed the 2008 UEFA Cup final against Rangers through suspension - opened the scoring after the Germans had dominated early on.

And it was the visitors who would have been the happier of the two sides as they returned to Glasgow with a precious point from their first match.

Rangers were dealt a blow before a ball had even been kicked with the news that skipper David Weir had failed to recover from an ankle knock he picked up in the goalless draw against Motherwell at the weekend.

That meant Lee McCulloch filled the void at centre-half, with Kevin Thomson drafted into the midfield, despite just 14 minutes of action since suffering a serious knee injury last November.

There was also another start for Jerome Rothen after the on-loan Paris St Germain winger made his debut on Saturday following his transfer deadline day switch to the Scottish champions.

Stuttgart received a boost when Alexander Hleb made the starting line-up after being rated doubtful with a muscle strain.

The absence of Weir proved to be a problem for Rangers right from the outset, with Stuttgart immediately piling the pressure on their visitors.

With less than a minute on the clock Cacau ran onto a cross from the right and drew a decent save from goalkeeper Allan McGregor, before Thomas Hitzlsperger hooked the rebound over the crossbar.

The home side were threatening again in the opening stages when Cacau released Pogrebniak into the box and he teed up the shot for Hleb but he was denied from close range by McGregor at the near post.

Hleb then turned provider with an inswinging corner into the box which broke to Cacau but his shot was diverted wide by the foot of McGregor.

However, the Rangers goalkeeper was picking the ball out of the back of the net after 18 minutes when Cacau's cut-back found Pogrebniak, who dispatched a powerful right foot shot past McGregor.

Stuttgart almost found the back of the net again when Cacau rifled into the side netting and provided another reminder of the threat posed by the home side.

Rangers' forays forward were few and far between but Steven Davis managed to release Kenny Miller through on goal but goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was first to the ball to smother before the striker could unleash the shot.

Then, with seconds to go until the half-time whistle, Pogrebniak rattled the crossbar. His effort was offside anyway but Walter Smith's men were no doubt breathing a sigh of relief not to be trailing by more as they headed into the interval.

Rangers appeared more composed when they emerged for the second half and could have restored parity within a couple of minutes of the restart.

Rothen picked out Sasa Papac in front of goal and the left-back did well to hold off Matthieu Delpierre only to see his header flash across the face of goal and wide of the upright.

At the other end, a Pogrebniak ball found Roberto Hilbert out on the right but his shot rippled the side netting, with McGregor untroubled on this occasion.

It was Lehmann's turn to be called into action when Miller tried his luck with a long-range effort that the Stuttgart goalkeeper managed to block at the near post.

With 20 minutes to go, Papac picked up the first booking of the match after catching Christian Trasch on the face with his boot but the Stuttgart full-back was quickly able to return to the action after receiving treatment.

With a single goal still separating the two sides, Rangers could have hauled themselves level when McCulloch nodded on a corner to Naismith but his close-range header fell wide of target.

The honours went to Bougherra instead when he snatched the leveller after 77 minutes. The defender worked a one-two with Rothen before driving past the out-stretched hands of Lehmann.

Rangers could even have snatched a last-gasp victory when they hit the woodwork in the final minute of the game when a Davis shot struck the post.

Teams

VfB Stuttgart Lehmann, Trasch, Tasci, Delpierre, Boka,Hilbert, Hitzlsperger, Khedira, Hleb (Gebhart 67),Cacau (Schieber 88), Pogrebniak.

Subs Not Used: Ulreich, Boulahrouz, Marica, Celozzi, Kuzmanovic.

Goals: Pogrebniak 18.

Rangers McGregor, Whittaker, McCulloch, Bougherra, Papac,Naismith, Davis, Thomson, Mendes, Rothen, Miller (Novo 90).

Subs Not Used: Alexander, Boyd, Beasley, Smith, Fleck, Little.

Booked: Papac.

Goals: Bougherra 77.

Att: 51,000

Ref: Massimo Busacca (Switzerland).