RANGERS booked a place in the fifth European final in their history in their 150th anniversary year at Ibrox last night when they defeated an RB Leipzig side fancied by many to win the competition on another night of raw emotion and high drama.
First half goals from James Tavernier and Glen Kamara saw Giovanni Van Bronckhorst’s team, trailing 1-0 after the first leg, go 2-1 in front on aggregate. When Christopher Nkunku pulled one back for a resurgent Leipzig in the second-half things looked ominous.
But seasoned observers of this indomitable side knew far better than to doubt them – they launched one more attack and summer signing John Lundstram sealed another epic and richly deserved triumph with 10 minutes remaining.
They will travel to Seville in Spain – the country where their revered predecessors The Barcelona Bears lifted their only continental trophy., the European Cup Winners’ Cup, with a victory over Moscow Dynamo 50 years ago – to face Eintracht Frankfurt on May 18.
Defeating a Frankfurt side that went unbeaten in the group stages and has despatched Real Betis, Barcelona and West Ham in the knockout rounds in the Ramon Panchez Pizuan Stadium will require another gargantuan effort.
But the Deutsche Bank Park outfit currently sit in 11th spot in the Bundesliga – far lower than the Borussia Dortmund and Leipzig teams who have been overcome during this extraordinary run.
Rangers fans will travel to Seville by plane, train and automobile in a fortnight in expectation not hope.
Van Bronckhorst was dealt a blow before kick-off when Kemar Roofe both failed to make his matchday squad. He had hoped the striker would be fit enough to be available for selection. But he was forced to go with Scott Wright up front.
Rangers did, of course, have the advantage of having 50,000 of their supporters roaring them on. Would the visitors be spooked by the wall of noise they were met with as they walked out of the tunnel? They would. Would the home team once again raise their game thanks to the vocal backing they received? They would.
Domenico Tedesco selected Yussuf Poulsen, the Danish internationalist who had come on as a substitute in the Red Bull Arena last week, in attack in the hope the 6ft 4in target man could give his charges a physical edge in the final third and provide and outball when required.
But it was their rivals who threatened first and Wright who created the chance. He burst down the right flank after being supplied by Tavernier, barged his way past Angelino and Lukas Klostermann and squared into the six yard box. His delivery was cleared to Ryan Jack who tested Peter Gulacsi with a dipping attempt.
That passage of play delighted their fans. But Leipzig could have forged further in front when Konrad Laimer strolled unopposed up the centre of the park and fed Poulsen outside him. Only a perfectly-time sliding tackle by Jack averted disaster.
That scare, though, roused Rangers to life. They levelled the double header on aggregate in the 18th minute. Kamara did superbly to win the ball wide on the left touchline and release Ryan Kent. The winger cut inside before picking out Tavernier at the far post. His skipper made no mistake.
It is impossible to understate the importance of the Englishman to Rangers in Europe. His strike was his seventh in the competition and put him out in front of Galeno of Porto and Karl Toko Ekambi of Lyon in the scoring charts.
Van Bronckhorst’s men nosed 2-0 ahead six minutes later. Aribo passed to Wright on the edge of the penalty box and his team mate laid it back to Kamara. The Finn, who is not exactly noted for finishing prowess, curled an exquisite first-time shot beyond the outstretched Gulacsi and into the bottom left corner.
Leipzig looked shellshocked. They were being pinned back, were struggling to cope with the relentless pressure that was being applied to their defence, were seldom threatening to get out of their own half. Aribo should have done better after Borna Barisic and Tavernier combined to tee him up in front of goal on the half hour mark.
Tedesco’s men won a free-kick within shooting distance just before half-time when Portuguese referee Artur Dias ruled that Barisic had fouled Benjamin Henrichs. Angelino fired his effort straight into the defensive wall. But his shot hit the face of Aribo who dropped to the ground and required several minutes of medical attention before limping off. He was replaced by Sakala.
The loss of Aribo with 45 minutes to go was a blow. But nothing could dampen the spirits inside Ibrox after such an impressive half of football. The change did nothing to help Leipzig claw their way back into proceedings. Allan McGregor continued to be untroubled. Sakala headed just past the right post early in the second-half after rising to meet a Kent cross.
Van Bronckhorst made two further substitutions in the 59th minute when he took off Jack and Wright and put on Leon Balogun and Scott Arfield respectively. The former slotted into the defence and John Lundstram moved forward. Tedesco responded by putting on Dominik Szoboszlai for Dani Olmo.
That latter switch made all the difference. McGregor was called into action for the first time in the 70th minute when Laimer burst through his rearguard. The veteran goalkeeper palmed wide. But Leipzig had levelled the tie seconds later. Christopher Nkunku volleyed into the roof of the net after being supplied by Angelino.
The crowd could sense their adversaries were in the ascendency and their team was, despite the fresh legs, not playing with the same intensity or directness. Somehow, though, they found another lease of life. In the 80th minute the ball broke to Lundstram and he buried it.
