By Alistair Aird
At around 6.30pm, it was all quiet. Security staff were getting their pre-match briefing, people were milling around doing what they had to do, but the blue sea of Ibrox was calm. Over the 90 minutes that followed up to kick off that very quickly started to change. As the drizzle cascaded down from the sky, the dribs and drabs of fans started to become thousands then tens of thousands. And at 7.19pm when the Rangers team emerged for the warm-up you started to get the feeling that this would be a rather special night. It wasn’t about daring to dream; it was about making the dream reality.
There may have been a few eyebrows raised when the Rangers starting XI was announced. Obdurate and stoic, the formation and personnel did the job required to keep the tie alive, but not many expected van Bronckhorst to select the same XI for this one. Perhaps that would have been different had Kemar Roofe been declared fit, but the Jamaican didn’t even make the bench. Aaron Ramsey did, though, and he was joined by Old Firm hero, Fashion Sakala. The man who comes from Zambia and flashes that infectious smile naturally and effortlessly was within his rights to feel aggrieved at being left out the XI, but with extra time and penalties a possibility, he would surely have a role to play at some point.
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The RB Leipzig coach, Domenico Tedesco, intimated after the first leg that he reckoned his team would have to score at Ibrox if they wanted to progress to the Final. Twenty-four goals in 11 European ties played this season including five against Manchester City, suggested that that wouldn’t be beyond the realms of possibility. And with seven goals in six Champions League games and three in five Europa League appearances, Frenchman Christopher Nkunku looked to be the favourite to find the net for the visitors. If, of course, they were offered the opportunity to do so!
Rangers have played at Ibrox since 1899, but it can seldom have been louder than it was ahead of this one. And shortly after the terrific tifo was unveiled at the Broomloan Road end, the teams emerged to a thunderous welcome. The Europa League anthem drowned out the Rangers fans momentarily, but when the last bars of that one died away, the volume was at it’s maximum. We were all ready.
Rangers set up in a 3-4-3 formation. John Lundstram was in the centre of a back three, with Glen Kamara and Ryan Jack in the heart of midfield. Joe Aribo was the focal point, flanked by Scott Wright and Ryan Kent.
Both teams started positively. Rangers pressed Leipzig when they had the ball, and RB did likewise when Rangers were in possession. That suggested an open game was in prospect with both teams intent on playing on the front foot.
The first opening came after seven minutes following an enterprising run from Wright. He dropped deep to pick the ball up, drove forward, linked with Tavernier then played in a low ball in that was cleared. It fell to Jack on the edge of the box, but his left foot shot was comfortable for Gulacsi.
RB had chances in that opening spell too. Rangers were guilty of surrendering possession cheaply at times, and it took a superb sliding tackle from Jack to thwart Poulsen. In the attack that followed, Bassey did well to stop the Dane getting a header in on goal.
But out of the blue, Rangers levelled the aggregate scores.
Kamara did well to hold the ball up and release Kent. In what was almost a mirror-image moment from early in the second half last week, Kent drove into the penalty area and fired the ball to the back post. But this time someone in blue was there. And who else would it be other than the man who is now the top scorer in this year’s Europa League, James Tavernier? His finish was, as per usual, perfect.
There are no words that can adequately describe the explosion of noise that followed. But when Rangers edged ahead in the tie after 24 minutes, it felt like it reached a decibel level that has never been recorded before.
Rangers did well to win the ball back in the final third following some tenacious and aggressive pressing. Aribo, on the right, picked out Wright inside the box, and he teed up Kamara who steered a lovely left foot shot into the corner of the net. Did Rangers now have one foot in the Final?
But the lead Rangers now enjoyed was a slender one, and if they needed reminded of that then Konrad Laimer fired a warning shot within minutes of Kamara’s goal. The ball broke to him after a superb challenge by Barisic, and the Austrian curled a left foot shot wide of McGregor’s right-hand post.
Play then swung to the other end and Joe Aribo missed a sitter! Tavernier rose and nodded down a brilliant Barisic cross, but Aribo swiped at the ball six yards out and didn’t connect properly. It should have been 3-0.
There then followed a couple of incidents that raised the ire of the home fans. Kent was on the receiving end of a cynical foul on Kent on halfway by Kampl, but the Portuguese referee who had a reputation for flashing several cards in a game chose to take no action. Yet a minute later when Nkunku and Goldson raced down the right in pursuit of the ball, Goldson found himself booked after taking the Frenchman out when he chopped back inside. The card was merited, but one should have been administered to Kampl too.
Goldson was soon joined in the book by Barisic after he took out Henrichs on the edge of the box. The goalscorer in the first leg, Angelino, took the free kick, but his effort hit Aribo in the wall. The Nigerian was grounded by the impact and required treatment. He eventually got up but looked groggy so he was taken off and replaced by Sakala.
That was the last action of a tumultuous first half. The boys in blue now faced the biggest 45 minutes any Rangers side had faced for at least half a century. They needed to stay tight, stay sharp, use the energy created by the fans and do Walter, Jimmy Bell and all the legends that are gone but never forgotten proud. These players may never have a better chance at having a shot at immortality.
As the second half got underway, a lovely banner was unveiled for Jimmy Bell. The only time the stadium fell silent prior to kick off was for Jimmy, and the banner, which read ‘There are people for whom Rangers FC is their entire way of life – Rest Easy Jimmy Bell’, drew a thunderous round of applause from the home fans.
Fashion Sakala was the first player to have an effort of goal after the restart. Wright darted away and drew a foul. From the free-kick, Lundstram, who put in another powerhouse performance, did superbly to win a corner, and the delivery found its way to Kent. His floated cross picked out Sakala, but he headed what was a half chance wide.
Rangers then made a double substitution. Arfield and Balogun came on for Jack and Wright. That meant Lundstram moved into midfield, with Balogun taking his place in the back three. Arfield took up position wide on the right of the front three. And within minutes, Arfield had a chance to create goal number three. He did very well to spin into space, but from a promising position, he poked the ball into Gulacsi’s arms at near post. Had he opened his foot and sidefooted the ball across goal, Sakala had a tap in.
RB were still dangerous, though, and they were probing, trying to thread the eye of the needle. These were nervy times with 20 minutes to go, and shortly after McGregor made a magnificent save to defy Laimer, Nknunku got himself on the end of a cross from the left to clinically level the aggregate scores.
Rangers were rocked. Suddenly, they couldn’t keep hold of the ball and looked to be all over the place at the back. RB had their tails up, sensing an opportunity to seize the advantage of aggregate. But as they have done so often this season, Rangers triumphed in the face of adversity.
Sakala won a free kick, and the delivery went all the way through to Kent. He hung up a looping cross that got Gulacsi in a fankle, and when the ball fell to Lundstram, he coolly slotted home. Bedlam! The customary VAR check took place – the RB players were looking for a foul on Gulacsi – but all that was needed was a cursory glance to confirm that that goal should stand.
Any wind that was left had been emphatically removed from the RB Leipzig sails, and it was Rangers that had the best opportunity to score in the latter stages of the game. Lundstram did what Lundstram does and snapped into a couple of tackles and emerged with the ball. He played in Sakala, but Gulacsi was quick off his line to deny the Zambian.
The flag of the assistant referee had been raised so it wouldn’t have counted, but that as they say was that. RB won a corner in stoppage time, and when it was cleared, the referee drew matters to a conclusion. Rangers Football Club, who 10 years were demoted to the lowest league, were IN A MAJOR EUROPEAN FINAL.
After two matches in the group stages, Rangers had no points. Fans were apathetic when it came to the Europa League, 56 was the big hitter. But ever since the defeat of Dortmund, there’s been a different vibe. It wasn’t just a matter of ‘how far can we go?’, more along the lines of ‘Rangers can win this.’
And that’s exactly what we’ll try and do on Wednesday, 18 May as the quest for glory in the Europa League continues.
See you all in sunny Seville.