Ewan Murray’s match report has arrived, so I’ll leave you with that. Thanks for your company and emails, goodnight!
Kemar Roofe’s post-match verdict
“I can barely hear you because of the noise! It’s unbelievable, it means so much to everybody here. We had our ups and downs but this is a special night. I don’t think it’s sunk in yet what we’ve achieved.
“That’s the beauty of Ibrox – we get the crowd going and then we feed off them. We’ll do our best against Leipzig and try to reach the final. We’re looking forward to it.”
Rangers.
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) April 14, 2022
The Europa League semi-finals
- West Ham v Eintracht Frankfurt
- RB Leipzig v Rangers
All four teams will fancy their chances, particularly now that Barcelona are out. And whichever team ends up winning the Europa League, it will be a helluva story.
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Ibrox has turned into a bouncy castle. Giovanni van Bronckhorst embraces all his players and then walks over to applaud the fans. The atmosphere tonight was sensational, and the good news for Rangers is that they will be at home in the second leg of their semi-final against RB Leipzig.
This time it counts for Kemar Roofe! 💪
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 14, 2022
He converts from close range to restore Rangers' advantage!
Listen to Ibrox! 🔥#UEL pic.twitter.com/3RQk5r2kLm
Full time: Rangers 3-1 Braga (agg: 3-2)
Peep peep! Rangers have reached their first European semi-final since 2008! They made excruciatingly hard work of it against a Braga side who finished with nine men, but their victory was fully deserved. James Tavernier scored twice in the first half, only for David Carmo’s late header to take a one-sided game to extra-time.
Rangers were rattled by that bizarre plot twist but composed themselves in time for Kemar Roofe – who had two goals disallowed earlier in the game – to put them into the semi-finals. They will face RB Leipzig, with either Eintracht Frankfurt or West Ham waiting in the final.
120 min One minute of added time.
118 min Miguel Fale replaces the goalscorer David Carmo.
118 min The impressive Wright slides a cross towards Arfield, whose first-time shot is blocked. He could have had a hat-trick since coming on at half-time in extra-time.
117 min Rangers waste a couple of minutes by passing the ball around, an eminently more sensible approach when they have two extra men.
115 min Rangers are still pushing for a fourth. All due respect, lads, but sod that! All they have to do is see this game out.
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114 min Braga appeal desperately for a penalty after a long throw leads to a bit of a scramble. Nothing doing.
112 min “I’m slightly surprised you think Roofe should have been sent off,” says Sam Campbell. “I thought he pulled out and made sure there was no contact. Although I also thought Rangers should have had a free kick instead of the corner Braga scored from so maybe it has all evened out.”
I thought he tried to pull out but didn’t quite manage it. That said, it’s been an extremely frantic night so I haven’t been able to watch the replay multiple times. And on balance, Rangers fully deserve to go through.
111 min The indefatigable Lundstram rampages into the area and cuts the ball back to Sakala, whose shot is deflected over the bar.
110 min: Arfield hits the bar! I don’t believe this. Sakala’s shot deflected off a defender and was saved by Matheus. The ball ran to Arfield, six yards out, and he somehow launched it onto the top of the crossbar!
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108 min Arfield misses a great chance to clinch it! Sakala and Kent combined well down the left, with Kent pulling the ball back to Arfield in the area. He panicked and dragged a tame shot wide of the near post from 10 yards.
106 min Peep peep!
A double change for Rangers Fashion Sakala and Scott Arfield replace Kemar Roofe and Joe Aribo.
And Braga bring on Jean-Baptiste Gorby for Andre Castro.
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Half time in extra time: Rangers 3-1 Nine-man Braga (agg: 3-2)
It’s been a tumultuous night at Ibrox. But Rangers surely - surely - are now on course for a Europa League semi-final against RB Leipzig.
105+1 min That was absurd from Medeiros, and has surely ended Braga’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals.
MEDEIROS IS SENT OFF!
105 min Braga are down to nine men. Medeiros left one on Balogun and was rightly booked. Then he got right in the referee’s face and was given a second yellow card!
103 min Braga will argue - rightly, in truth - that Roofe should have been sent off at the start of extra-time. Rangers will give not a solitary one.
He’s had two disallowed, but this one counts! It was beautifully worked down the right. Kamara threaded a square pass into Aribo, who hammered a low cross on the turn into the six-yard box. Roofe got in front of Fabiano at the far post and gleefully sidefooted the ball into an open net.
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GOAL! Rangers 3-1 Braga (agg: 3-2; Roofe 101)
Kemar Roofe finally gets his goal!
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100 min Braga make another change - Lucas Mineiro on, Al Musrati off.
98 min Bassey’s cross is headed to the edge of the area, where Kent can’t get over the bouncing ball and shoots well wide.
98 min Kent runs Fabiano and digs out an excellent cross that is claimed at the second attempt by Matheus. It’s so tense.
96 min Matheus is flattened again, this time by Aribo, but it was a legitimate challenge for a 45/55 ball. Matheus gets to his feet, accepts Aribo’s apology and then helps Aribo with his cramp.
95 min Ten-man Braga are dominating possession at the moment. Rangers are either tired, rattled or both. It will haunt them forever more if they don’t go through tonight.
92 min Castro is down after a poor challenge from Roofe, who has already been booked. He’s lucky there - he went over the ball and should have been given a second yellow. The referee does get his yellow card out, but only to book one of the Braga coaching staff.
91 min Peep peep! Here we go again.
Full time: Rangers 2-1 Braga (agg: 2-2)
I have no idea how this has happened, but we’re going to have extra-time at Ibrox. The Rangers players should be in the shower, celebrating their first European semi-final since 2008. But Braga – who were a goal and a man down at half-time - held on grimly throughout the second half and levelled the tie through David Carmo’s fine header.
90+6 min A last chance for Rangers! Kent’s deep cross is headed wide by the under-pressure Goldson, the last touch of normal time.
90+5 min Tavernier’s corner is headed away at the near post.
90+5 min Wright wins a corner for Rangers, their last chance to win it in normal time...
90+4 min Vitor Oliveira cuts infield from the left, beating three players in the process, and is about to shoot from the edge of the D when Kamara makes a vital interception.
90+1 min Five minutes of added time.
90 min Leon Balogun replaces a weary Borna Barisic, who had an outstanding game. Calvin Bassey will move to left-back.
88 min It’s ragged now. Rangers are desperate to finish this before extra-time.
86 min Rangers have had 64 per cent possession and 20 shots to Braga’s four. They’ve also had three goals disallowed. But at the moment, it counts for nowt and the tie is going to extra-time.
85 min Roofe is booked for a late challenge on Matheus, who is taking more hits than Tom Reagan.
Braga won a corner on the right, possibly their first of the match. Medeiros curled it flat and hard towards the near post, where Carmo got in front of Roofe and steered a superb header into the far corner.
GOAL! Rangers 2-1 Braga (agg: 2-2; Carmo 83)
I don’t believe it. Braga are level in the tie!
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82 min Kamara blocks a long-range shot from Ricardo Horta.
81 min Matheus is still being treated. He stopped Ramsey’s shot on the line and the momentum of both players led to a collision, Ramsey’s knee against Matheus’s head. But he’s up on his feet now and looks okay to continue.
80 min While Matheus receives treatment, Rangers make a double change - Ryan Jack and Aaron Ramsey are replaced by Glen Kamara and Scott Wright.
79 min: Another Rangers goal is disallowed! Matheus is down holding his face after a challenge from an apologetic Ramsey, though I think the goal has been disallowed for offside.
78 min Ramsey slaloms past two players on the edge of the D and is taken down. The referee doesn’t see the trip and waves play on.
75 min Fabiano runs onto a bouncing ball, 30 yards out, and blooters it into a different postcode.
74 min For all their dominance - and it has been totally one-sided - Rangers are still only one goal ahead in the tie.
73 min Goldson is down after a clash of heads with Vitor Oliveira. The Rangers players weren’t happy, but though Oliveira jumped into Goldson, he did seem to only have eyes for the ball. Eventually Goldson gets to his feet and accepts Oliveira’s apology.
NO GOAL! Roofe was indeed offside.
70 min: Roofe has another goal disallowed! This time it’s for offside, though it will be chcked. He ran onto Aribo’s superb flick and lobbed the ball gently over the outrushing Matheus. The offside looks very tight, so this could yet be given.
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69 min Rangers are still pushing for a third goal. Barisic’s inswinging free-kick from the right is headed over by Aribo, but the referee gives a corner. Tavernier’s delivery is headed away at the near post. Ramsey picks up the loose ball, plays a one-two with Lundstram and shoots into the side netting from a prohibitive angle. After a poor start he has played pretty well, though he took the wrong option there.
67 min As things stand, the semi-finals of the Europa League will be:
- RB Leipzig v Rangers
- West Ham v Eintracht Frankfurt
65 min Yet another wonderful cross from Barisic is headed over at the near post by the diving Ramsey. It was a half chance at best.
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63 min Tavernier’s free-kick leads to Goldson smashing a shot off the outside of the post, though it wouldn’t have counted as there was an offside in the build up.
63 min The impressive Bassey charges forward and is flattened by Paulo Oliveira. Free-kick to Rangers on the left wing...
61 min Two more changes for Braga: Abel Ruiz and Rodrigo Gomes are replaced by Vitor Oliveira and Iuri Medeiros.
60 min Tavernier’s very deep cross is controlled brilliantly by Kent, who loses Fabiano and teases a cross towards Roofe. His header is blocked in the six-yard box.
58 min A quiet spell in the game. Braga aren’t out of this - in fact they’ve probably played better with 10 men than they did with 11.
54 min Kent beats Fabiano with contemptuous ease and stands up a cross that is just too high for Ramsey, arriving late in the box.
54 min I SAID MEANWHILE!
53 min Ramsey lofts a lovely pass out to Barisic, whose cross is headed away bravely by Carmo. The ball is picked up by Lundstram, who belts over from 20 yards.
50 min Rangers break and Aribo curls wide from inside the D. He had Kent in all sorts of space to his left.
50 min Moura charges to the edge of the area before being well tackled by Goldson. Despite being down to 10 men, Braga have made quite a lively start to the second half.
46 min Roofe almost has another chance after 15 seconds of the second half, but he takes an extra touch and is eventually crowded out. He’s been a threat all night.
46 min Peep peep! Braga begin the second half, having made a half-time substitution: Francisco Moura replaces Andre Horta.
“Not watching the match, just following on your MBM,” says David Correia. “Would the push have warranted a red outside the box? If not, I believe the rule is that it should have been a yellow and penalty not a red card.”
I might be wrong, because the rules change every second day, but I’m pretty sure if the defender doesn’t try to play the ball, which Tormena didn’t, it’s a penalty and a red card (if it’s a clear goalscoring opportunity).
The BT Sport team are suggesting that Roofe’s goal was disallowed for what was deemed a deliberate handball by Barisic, and that the goal would/should have stood had it been accidental, which it was. “If that’s deliberate he should be in the circus!” says Ally McCoist.
Half time: Rangers 2-0 Braga (agg: 2-1)
Peep peep! A near perfect first half for Rangers, who produced a blistering performance to overwhelm Braga. James Tavernier scored both goals, and Braga are down to ten men after Vitor Tormena was sent off. Rangers are tantalisingly close to their first European semi-final since 2008.
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45 min That’s Tavernier’s second goal of the night, his 14th of the season and his sixth in the knockout stages of the Europa League.
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GOAL! Rangers 2-0 Braga (agg: 2-1; Tavernier 44 pen)
James Tavernier does a bit of meditation, walks forward and curls the penalty straight down the middle! Rangers are ahead in the tie, and they’re a man up as well.
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That’s the right decision I think. Roofe ran onto a long ball forward and got the wrong side of Tormena, who panicked and stuck an elbow in his back. Because he wasn’t trying to play the ball, it’s a penalty and a red card.
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PENALTY TO RANGERS! RED CARD FOR TORMENA!
Tormena shoves Roofe over in the area and it’s a penalty to Rangers. And - oh my days - Tormena has also been sent off!
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41 min Rangers have been so dominant and could easily be two or three ahead. If they don’t go through tonight, they will regret not putting Braga away in the first half.
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39 min I SAID MEANWHILE.
38 min And now Ramsey’s floated cross is headed too close to Matheus by Kent. Rangers are rampant at the moment.
37 min Roofe collects a loose ball 25 yards from goal but drags wide of the far post with his left foot.
37 min MEANWHILE.
36 min Tavernier’s corner is headed across goal by Aribo and just evades Roofe at the far post.
35 min Rangers’ tempo has been terrific, and Braga are struggling to deal with it. Kent wins another corner on the left, to be taken by Tavernier...
32 min: Roofe hits the bar! How did that stay out? Tavernier’s corner from the left was headed across goal and sidefooted onto the underside of the bar by Roofe, four yards from goal. It did bounce up a little awkwardly at Roofe, but it was a glorious chance.
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31 min Ramsey flicks a lovely pass into Aribo, who controls it neatly before having a shot blocked. It ricochets back to Aribo, who has another shot blocked.
30 min The resulting corner, taken by Barisic, is claimed superbly by Matheus.
29 min Tavernier’s cross towards Roofe is headed behind by Oliveira, diving towards his own goal. Really good defending.
27 min Kent sprays a superb crossfield pass to Ramsey, but he overhits the cross. Ramsey hasn’t started particularly well.
26 min There’s a break in play while the Braga keeper Matheus receives treatment to his elbow. He landed awkwardly when claiming yet another cross from Barisic.
23 min The first dangerous attack from Braga. The dawdling Ramsey is robbed just short of the halfway line by Musrati, who feeds the ball down the left wing. Then it’s moved infield to Ricardo Horta, who smashes over the ball from 25 yards.
22 min Another wicked cross leads to a scramble in the Braga area. Ramsey loses the flight of the ball and sort of humps it across the area to Aribo, whose shot from eight yards is desperately smothered.
20 min Aribo is actually playing as the No10, with Ramsey roaming from the right. I should have told you that earlier. Shoulda woulda didnae.
19 min Aribo controls the ball in the area, back to goal, and lays it back to the onrushing Ramsey. He spanks over the bar from 18 yards. For a player of his class, that wasn’t a bad opportunity.
19 min Braga are trying to slow the game down and quieten the home crowd. After a very one-sided start, it’s developing into a more even game.
17 min Braga enjoy their first extended spell of possession. Eventually Ricardo Horta’s poor control allows Goldson to clear.
SEVENTY SECONDS!
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 14, 2022
That's the dream start Rangers were after at Ibrox!
Captain fantastic, James Tavernier! 💪#UEL pic.twitter.com/ORgMf6KmEu
15 min Aribo’s low cross finds its way through to Roofe, who clips it wide of the near post under pressure. It was only a half chance.
14 min Another brilliant cross, this time from Aribo, is taken away from Tavernier by Rodrigo Gomes. That was outstanding defending.
13 min “Was that the correct application of the handball law?” asks Sam Campbell. “I thought the handball had to be immediately prior to the goal being scored as with Chelsea the other night.”
I think the rules in Uefa competitions are different to the Premier League, so that a handball in the build-up is enough for the goal to be disallowed. I’ve been frantically googling it while trying to watch the game, so if there are any lawmakers out there, please put me out of my misery.
11 min “Hi Rob,” says Matt Burtz. “I had the pleasure of seeing a match at Ibrox when Rangers hosted Dundee in February 2019. The capacity crowd was pretty damn loud for a fairly run-of-the-mill 4-0 win for the hosts, so I can only imagine the decibel levels on a night like this one. I haven’t been to many grounds in the UK, but I know Ibrox is a special one.”
8 min I’m still trying to process that Barisic handball. I’m so used to the English Premier League handball rules, under which the goal would have stood, that it’s taking a while to compute. It hasn’t deflated Rangers, though, who are completely dominant.
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GOAL DISALLOWED AFTER VAR CHECK!
The ball hit Barisic’s hand in the build up and, though it was accidental, the goal has been disallowed.
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This is unbelievable! Again it came down the left, with Bassey flipping a clever ball over the top to find Barisic. He muscled Fabiano off the ball and flipped a gorgeous cross into the middle, where Roofe got away from Tormena and headed gleefully past Matheus from six yards.
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GOAL! Rangers 2-0 Braga (Roofe 5)
It’s two!
Ibrox has gone ballistic! Barisic’s cross from the left was helped on by Aribo, facing away from goal, and Tavernier reacted quicker than anyone to slide the ball past Matheus from a tight angle. Matheus probably shouldn’t have been beaten from there. The hell Rangers will care!
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GOAL! Rangers 1-0 Braga (agg: 1-1; Tavernier 2)
What a start for Rangers!!
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1 min Peep peep! Kemar Roofe gets the game under way.
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“Where’s Ianis Hagi?” asks Tony Hughes. “Is he injured or just not making it into the squad?”
He’s out for the rest of the season with a knee injury. But he’ll be there in spirit.
The last time Rangers and Braga met at Ibrox... 👀#UEL pic.twitter.com/xS7aA0c9KR
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) April 14, 2022
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The noise at Ibrox is frankly ridiculous. If this atmosphere doesn’t inspire the Rangers players, then nothing will.
A reminder of the teams
Rangers (possible 4-2-3-1) McGregor; Tavernier, Goldson, Bassey, Barisic; Lundstram, Jack; Aribo, Ramsey, Kent; Roofe.
Substitutes: Robby McCrorie, McLaughlin, Diallo, S Davis, Kamara, Sands, Wright, Balogun, Sakala, Arfield, King, Lowry.
Braga (possible 3-5-2) Matheus; P Oliveira, Carmo, Tormena; Fabiano, Andre Castro, Musrati, A Horta, Gomes; Ruiz, R Horta.
Substitutes: Sa, Y Couto, Leite, Mineiro, Medeiros, Buta, Gorby, Moura, B Couto, Rodrigues, Fale, V Oliveira.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s pre-match thoughts
“ We just need someone to roof one from 40 yards like this FFS We have to score, so we have to get our speed of play right and create as many chances as possible while also keeping an eye on their transitions. We want to start on the front foot and put the pressure on them.
“[On Kemar Roofe’s hat-trick at the weekend] It’s always a boost to score a hat-trick and I hope it’ll lift his confidence, because we need goals today as well. To be at this stage in Europe is a very good achievement for us, but now we have a chance to reach the semi-final - we have to give everything.
“They’re a good team - fast and dynamic. I don’t expect them to be as offensive as they were last week but they always have a threat going forward.”
Aaron Ramsey makes his full European debut for Rangers tonight
"Rangers are a far better football team when he's in the side.
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 14, 2022
"He's got qualities that the rest of the players don't have."
Ally McCoist and Kenny Miller are thrilled to see Aaron Ramsey start against Braga at Ibrox.
The Welshman's 80th European appearance.#UEL pic.twitter.com/ErTCfECz44
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Full time: Atalanta 0-2 RB Leipzig (agg: 1-3) Two goals from the brilliant Christopher Nkunku have put RB Leipzig into their second European semi-final in three seasons.
RB Leipzig are heading for the last four. Christopher Nkunku has scored from the penalty spot, his second goal of the night, to put them 2-0 up away to Atalanta. That’s a 3-1 aggregate lead with only three minutes remaining.
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There’s one early game in the Europa League. With just over 20 minutes remaining in Bergamo, RB Leipzig lead Atalanta 1-0 on the night, 2-1 on aggregate. You won’t be surprised to hear that the brilliant Christopher Nkunku scored the goal. The winners of that tie will play Rangers or Braga in the semi-finals.
Appetite-whetter
Team news
Giovanni van Bronckhorst makes four changes to the team that was beaten in Portugal last week. Borna Barisic, Joe Aribo, Aaron Ramsey and Kemar Roofe come in; Leon Balogun, Scott Arfield, Glenn Kamara and Fashion Sakala drop to the bench.
🆕 Tonight's #RangersFC team to face @SCBragaOficial in the @EuropaLeague.
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) April 14, 2022
🗒️ Full Team News: https://t.co/2jem4HFGUp#UEL pic.twitter.com/7iFCHcyAPO
Two changes for Braga from the first leg. Paulo Oliveira and Andre Castro replace Yan Couto and Iuri Medeiros, which might mean a switch from 3-4-3 to 3-5-2.
📋 | 11 INICIAL - LINE UP
— SC Braga (@SCBragaOficial) April 14, 2022
Somos muito mais que onze ✊
Juntos #AtéAoFim!#UEL | #RFCSCB pic.twitter.com/uEYTz2hTnd
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Preamble
What comes next in this list: 1960, 1961, 1967, 1969, 1972, 1993, 2008? All connected with Rangers will hope it’s 2022, as those are the years in which they have reached European semi-finals. (Yes, yes, I know that technically 1993 wasn’t a semi-final, but try telling that to Ian Durrant.)
If Rangers are to reach their eighth European semi-final (yes, yes, etc), they will have to overturn a 1-0 deficit against a good but beatable Braga at Ibrox. It’s a stiff task, especially without Alfredo Morelos, but it’s less scary than it would have been if the away goals rule was still in place.
Whoever goes through will face either RB Leipzig or Atalanta in the last four of the Europa League. Rangers can see the semi-finals; in the next few hours, we’ll find out whether they’re allowed to touch them.
Kick off 8pm.
🏡#UEL pic.twitter.com/c5Bs0h5EhM
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) April 14, 2022
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