SCHOOL LEVERS
Gers exit Europa League as Gerrard learns a few lessons about squad
A COLOSSAL 147 days had passed between the two legs.
Unfortunately for Rangers the gap separating the two sides at the final whistle in Leverkusen was almost as significant.
This was always going to be an uphill task for Steven Gerrard’s side. The manager had admitted they’d left themselves a mountain to climb after the 3-1 first-leg defeat at Ibrox way back in March.
But as they reached the end of one long and impressive Europa League road last night, crucial lessons will have been learned with just six weeks to go until the next adventure starts.
Like Brandon Barker, handed a surprise start ahead of Ianis Hagi, just isn’t in the same bracket as the Romanian. And Alfredo Morelos, should he be on board for the next Euro journey, looks a mile off being sharp enough to operate at the very top level right now.
Which could be significant had any Lille operatives been watching on at the BayArena last night.
It’s been 13 months since this Euro campaign began for Gerrard’s side with a straightforward 4-0 win over St Joseph’s in Gibraltar. But it finally ended with a 1-0 defeat against a formidable Leverkusen side who hardly looked like a side who haven’t kicked a ball in anger for five weeks.
A goal early in the second half from Moussa Diaby did the damage on a blazing hot night on the banks of the Rhine. But in truth the tie had been lost on a soggy evening by the Clyde five months ago.
Leverkusen looked like a side desperate to salvage something from a season that saw them slip to fifth in the Bundesliga and miss out on a Champions League spot.
Peter Bosz’s players have their sights on winning this competition to claw back a spot at the main table. And they looked very much like a team in last-chance saloon as they set up a quarter final shoot-out with Inter Milan.
With Kai Havertz on this kind of form they have to be taken as a serious contender to lift the trophy.
Rangers and Gerrard will rightly hail the Euro campaign a success after huge results against Porto, Feyenoord and Braga. But here they were well and truly second best.
There were three changes to the side that beat Aberdeen 1-0 on Saturday with Barker handed a start as Gerrard looked to utilise the winger’s pace.
Filip Helander was also given a surprise recall for his first start since
December in place of the ineligible Leon Balogun while Steve Davis came back in for the suspended Glen Kamara in midfield.
Leverkusen brought the imposing Kevin Volland back to lead the line while Havertz took up a No.10 position inside the Germans’ youngest debutant Florian Wirtz who made his first start at the age of 17.
Bayer were keen to play a game of keep ball in the opening stages as they invited Rangers to break out their shape but they were almost caught out after six minutes when Morelos got his first glimpse of goal.
That was to be the story of the match for Morelos who, although isolated for long spells, looked sluggish whenever he did get sight of the ball.
Havertz delivered the first warning of his threat when he swivelled and fired off a 16-yard shot that smashed off the top of Allan McGregor’s bar after a neat lay-off from Volland.
And the 21-year-old could – and should – have opened the scoring after 22 minutes. An exquisite ball in behind from Exequiel Palacios sent Havertz scampering through
between Helander and Barisic but his shot from the edge of the area slipped just wide.
Havertz showed the other side of his game when he dinked a perfectlyweighted ball over Helander for Diaby who volleyed over from 18 yards.
Gerrard could have been content with the defensive efforts of his side in the first half but they had barely dirtied Lukas Hradecky’s gloves at the opposite end.
And if Rangers were clinging to the faintest of hopes they were still in the tie then Diaby blasted those to pieces five minutes after the restart.
The speed merchant lost James
Tavernier as he cut inside to run on to a pinpoint Charles Aranguiz pass from his own half and he shot high past McGregor to leave the keeper helpless.
The Rangers No.1 then had to look sharp to deny Havertz.
Rangers were struggling to even get a touch and Gerrard hooked the ineffective Barker on the hour mark, replacing him with Hagi.
Jordan Jones was then brought on for Kent and Scott Arfield replaced Steven Davis who had been over-run in the middle of the park.
Goldson came within an inch of levelling when his header from a corner was cleared off the line. Morelos’ miserable evening was brought to an end after 76 minutes when he was replaced by Greg Stewart, with young Nathan Patterson given the closing spell in place of Tavernier.
Stewart passed up a good chance to level after being gifted an opportunity by Hradecky. But it would have been little more than a consolation as Leverkusen eased to the win that sets up the one-off clash with Inter next week.