The back-up boys had more than enough to keep Rangers out in front.
For Steven Gerrard, this positive bulletin on the depth of his squad counted as a yet another bonus. In truth, wrapping up top spot in Group D of the Europa League came with a few of them.
Winning the section - and this match - has delivered a financial lift of almost £1.5million to the Ibrox bank balance. In terms of sporting prestige, finishing above Benfica can only be seen as hugely creditable feat.
Rangers will also now be seeded when they enter Monday’s last 32 draw. It could be an important distinction. After coming through this group with a mighty haul of 14 points, they can rightly harbour confidence about further progression.
A seventh European win out of nine this term was achieved by a starting line-up showing no fewer than seven changes from Sunday’s 4-0 Premiership romp past Ross County.
Cedric Itten was one of those introduced. And how the Swiss striker seized his chance.
It was his superb finish that provided a vital first-half lead. From there, Itten’s overall performance grew impressively.
The £2.5million signing from St Gallen has had to be patient since his August move. But a fifth start for Rangers offered the clearest evidence yet of precisely what he can offer. Strong and skilful in leading the line for 80 minutes, Itten joins Alfredo Morelos, Kemar Roofe and Jermain Defoe in the abundance of centre-forward options available to Gerrard.
They needed only to match Benfica’s result but Rangers were not in the mood to rely on a favour from Standard Liege. Control was exerted.
Their second-half clincher came from another of those drafted in. Ianis Hagi would, however, have to pass full credit to Connor Goldson. The only man to have played every minute for Rangers this season, Goldson’s header bounced down onto the line before Hagi applied the easiest of finishing touches. The margin of victory was fully deserved.
Now unbeaten in 26 games - and with 20 clean sheets - Gerrard’s bandwagon thunders on. in this of all seasons, table-topping is a very good habit to get into. The Ibrox outfit will now aim to further strengthen their 13-point Premiership lead when they visit Tannadice on Sunday.
The shape of the Rangers side was familiar, even if the some of the personnel within it wasn’t. Nathan Patterson - the 19-year-old right-back - made his first start of the season as captain James Tavernier started on the bench.
Gerrard’s regular three-man midfield was staffed entirely by full internationals, with Scott Arfield and Glen Kamara flanking Bongani Zungu. For the South African, just a second start since arriving on loan from French club Amiens provided an obvious opportunity to impress.
He did - despite having to proceed cautiously from the seventh minute. Slipping on the turf, Zungu accidentally clattered into Croatian counterpart Karlo Muhar. Spanish referee Jose Maria Sanchez saw no grounds for mitigation, however, and harshly reached for the first yellow card of the match.
Zungu’s issues could quickly have multiplied when a rare unconvincing pass deep in Rangers territory was partially cut out. Poznan ferried the ball to Jan Sykora but an excellent back-tracking run from Borna Barisic denied him a clear strike.
Sykora could have been forgiven for being caught a little cold. He had only just stepped off the bench in the 12th minute after Michal Skoras was forced out of action after rolling his ankle when attempting to close down Kamara. On a cold evening in west-central Poland, the underfoot conditions weren’t always entirely predictable.
Poznan took to the air after a quarter of an hour. And it should have given them the lead.
A smart cross from the right found captain Lubomir Satka unmarked and with space to head from a central position. He duly connected, but sent his effort too high as Jon McLaughlin’s eyes flashed upwards in anxiety.
If that counted as a let-off for Rangers then it was maximised to the full. Not that much had been seen of Itten. The Swiss striker emphatically changed that profile with a terrific finish that granted Gerrard’s men a 31st minute lead and provided an instant lift to his own confidence.
Rangers applied pressure in the midfield, with the ball bobbling up before Jakub Kaminski completely botched the direction of his first time pass. Itten was onto it in a flash. Driving into the area, he shifted to the right of centre-back Djordje Crnomarkovic and crashed a near-post shot high into the roof of the net.
Itten’s third goal of the season - the others had come in a 5-1 hammering of Motherwell in September - put Rangers exactly where the wanted to be. For a 23-year-old trying to stake his claim, it felt like an important moment.
The Ibrox outfit came close to building on it before the break. Hagi initially looked to have lost his way when played through by an excellent Itten touch, yet recovered to offload a low, angled drive that deflected fractionally wide of the far post.
Hagi tested Filip Bednarek shortly after the restart before Poznan managed to pose a threat again. It came via a free-kick from Tymoteusz Puchacz that McLaughlin saved to his left. The goalkeeper didn’t look too stressed.
Any lingering uncertainty was removed on 72 minutes. A Barisic free-kick was perfect for Goldson, who towered to loop a header over Bednarek and off the underside of the bar. The ball bounced directly downwards and Hagi reacted first to knock in.
The Romanian was unlucky not to double his tally with a fine, curling attempt as Rangers eased over the line.