Atletico Madrid enter EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL
MADRID: Atletico Madrid rode an inspired performance from Diego Costa in the second leg of the Europa League semi-finals to defeat Arsenal 1-0 (2-1 on aggregate) and enter the final.
The contest was played in an electric atmosphere at Wanda Metropolitano Stadium here on Thursday night where nearly 65,000 fans responded to the call by suspended Atletico coach Diego Simeone the day before to serve as a true 12th man and will the home side to victory, reports EFE news agency.
But having given up a goal at home in a 1-1 first-leg draw last week, Arsenal needed to play with a sense of urgency and took control of midfield in the first half thanks to the play of Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey, who repeat edly threaded the needle with passes to the Gunners’ trio of forwards.
Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette posed a constant threat in the first 45 minutes and defender Hector Bellerin created danger with forays down the right side but without producing any change on the scoreboard.
Atletico Madrid, mean- while, came close to opening the scoring on a left-foot ed blast by Koke from one corner of the area and another strike by Antoine Griezmann.
Finally, that pressure paid off late in first-half injury time, when Costa capitalized on a perfect pass from Griezmann and fired a left-footed shot past goalkeeper David Ospina and into the back of the net in the 48th minute.
Meanwhile, seeing Laurent Koscielny being carried off on a stretcher with his face in tears added more gloom to Arsenal’s loss to Atletico Madrid on Thursday. LONDON: Rangers on Friday confirmed former Liverpool and England midfielder Steven Gerrard as their new manager, announcing he would join the Scottish Premiership club this summer on a four-year deal.
Gerrard, who has previously only worked with Liverpool’s Under-18s, faces a daunting task in trying to compete with Old Firm rivals Celtic, who have just sealed their seventh consecutive title.
“I am honoured to become the next manager of Rangers,” the 37-year-old said in a statement on the club’s website.
“I have enormous respect for this football club, and its history and tradition.
“I can’t wait to start this new journey at Rangers as we look to build on the many successes that this club has achieved.”
Chairman Dave King said: “From the very beginning, talks have been extremely positive and we believe that Steven is the right man to drive Rangers forward. He was extremely impressive throughout our negotiations and we are convinced that he has the necessary knowledge and temperament to lead the club to the success we all desire.” Gerrard was an inspirational captain and Champions League winner in a 17-year career at Anfield but as a managerial rookie he faces a huge challenge to unseat Celtic, who sealed the title on Sunday with a 5-0 thumping of Rangers. He also faces the challenge of outfoxing his former manager at Liverpool in Celtic’s Brendan Rodgers. The arrival of the former England captain will restore some star power to a league that has found it increasingly hard to attract and hold onto top players against the booming television revenues of the Premier League. Rangers are still recovering from the fallout of their liquidation in 2012 and subsequent demotion to the fourth tier of Scottish football.