Lawrence gave Rangers the lead early in the match with a fantastic header before Angel Di Maria equalised from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time. However, Clement’s men had the lead at the break deep into injury time as Dujon Sterling found the target with his first ever senior career goal.
The home side were level again in the second-half through a Connor Goldson own goal with nothing to separate the sides ahead of next week’s return fixture at Ibrox.
There were two changes from the weekend’s Scottish Premiership match against Motherwell as Tom Lawrence and Fabio Silva came in from the start, with Nico Raskin and Ross McCausland on the bench.
Rangers started in Lisbon with Jack Butland in goal and a back four of James Tavernier, Connor Goldson, John Souttar and Ridvan.
John Lundstram and Mohamed Diomande were joined in midfield by Tom Lawrence, while Dujon Sterling and Fabio Silva provided the support from the wide areas for striker Cyriel Dessers.
David Neres tested Jack Butland in the opening five minutes of the tie as Benfica looked to assert their authority with the home advantage in the early stages. Butland did well at his near post to get a strong hand to a powerful hit from the winger to send it wide.
However, with six minutes on the clock and with their first real chance of the tie, it was Rangers who had the advantage in Lisbon.
It was a well-worked move from Clement’s men as Fabio Silva and Mohamed Diomande combined down the left flank with the latter driving into space. Diomande was able to deliver an inviting cross into the box, with Tom Lawrence on hand to head beyond Anatoliy Trubin to give Rangers the early advantage.
Lawrence tested the goalkeeper again with a long-range strike shortly after, but it was held by Trublin.
It was an open start to this tie, with Butland pulling off an incredible double save to deny the hosts an equaliser with 15 minutes played. David Neres again had the initial shot which the Rangers number one got a strong hand to push away, before somehow managing to gather a rebound effort from Arthur Cabral to protect Rangers’ advantage.
Angel Di Maria tried a left-footed strike from a free-kick just before the half-hour mark as Benfica continued to search for a route back in this tie but he was unable to keep his low effort on target as it drifted wide of Butland’s post.
It was Rangers who were next to have a free-kick in a dangerous position after Dujon Sterling was brought down around 25 yards from goal in a fairly central area, however the Benfica wall stood strong to block James Tavernier’s strike.
In first half injury time, the referee was called to the VAR monitor to review a potential penalty for Benfica and pointed to the spot after reviewing the footage judging a hand ball from John Souttar in the box in the build-up to a chance for the home side.
Angel Di Maria stepped-up to the spot and sent a low left-footed penalty into the back of the net beyond Butland.
But the home side were not level for long as deep into injury time Dujon Sterling had Rangers back in front and what a time it was for the Englishman to pop up with his first goal for the club.
James Tavernier picked out Fabio Silva on the left and he delivered a dangerous ball into the box with Sterling, who had once again taken up position on the wing for this match, making a great run into the box and showing composure to guide a low finish beyond Anatoliy Trubin.
Following the goal there was another VAR check for offside in the build-up, but after review the goal was awarded and Clement’s men headed in at the break with a well-deserved lead in Lisbon.
Into the second-half, Sterling flashed a shot at goal as the ball fell to him on the edge of the box but it was gathered by Anatoliy Trubin.
At the other end, James Tavernier pulled off a fantastic block in the box as Benfica broke in numbers, with the captain getting a crucial touch to deny David Neres.
Fabio Silva was denied a goal on his return to Portugal as Trubin pulled off a good save to get a strong hand to the strikers’ shot after good build-up play from James Tavernier and Tom Lawrence.
With 67 minutes played in Lisbon, the hosts were back level from a free-kick. The ball was whipped into the box by Angel Di Maria, and Connor Goldson turned a clearance into his own net.
Philippe Clement turned to his bench for the first time of the evening as he made a triple change with youngster Cole McKinnon introduced for his European debut for Rangers, alongside Ryan Jack and Kemar Roofe, with Dujon Sterling, Tom Lawrence and Cyriel Dessers replaced.
Clement’s men were able to see out the remaining stages of this first-leg with the match firmly in the balance heading back to Ibrox for next week’s second-leg.
RANGERS: Butland, Tavernier, Goldson, Souttar, Ridvan, Lundstram, Diomande (Raskin 83) Lawrence (Jack, 77), Sterling (McKinnon, 77) , Silva (McCausland, 90), Dessers (Roofe, 77) .
Subs: McCrorie, K. Wright, Davies, Barisic, King, Raskin, Yfeko, Fraser.
Benfica: Trubin, Antonio Silva, Bah (Carreras 84), Neres (Gouveia 84), Aursnes, Cabral (Marcos Leonardo, 65), Di Maria, Rafa Silva, Otamendi, Florentino, Joao Neves.
Subs: Samuel Soares, Andre Gomes, Carreras, Morato, Orkun Kokcu, Tengstedt, Joao Mario, Rollheiser, Tomas Araujo, Tiago Gouveia, Diogo Spencer.