Germans live up to hype with a little hand from VAR
● A first home Europa League defeat for Gerrard as Leverkusen show their class
In a Europa League campaign in which Steven Gerrard’s team have regularly confounded expectations, they finally hit the glass ceiling of their ability to upset the odds as Bayer Leverkusen handed the Rangers boss his first home defeat in the competition.
As most observers had anticipated, the Bundesliga side were a significant step up in class for the Ibrox men. Kai Havertz’s Var-awarded penalty gave them a first-half lead which was doubled by Charles Aranguiz.
That didn’t flatter Leverkusen and, although George Edmundson – the man punished for handball at the penalty – pulled one back for Rangers in a much more competitive second half, substitute Leon Bailey restored the Germans’ two-goal advantage in the closing stages.
It remains uncertain when the second leg of this last-16 tie, currently scheduled to be played behind closed doors next Thursday, will go ahead amid the coronavirus crisis. What is all but sure is that Leverkusen can look forward to the quarter-finals, whenever they take place.
While Rangers and their supporters felt a sense of grievance over the penalty decision which allowed Leverkusen to make the breakthrough eight minutes before the interval, no-one could reasonably dispute the visitors merited their lead on the balance of play.
They had arrived with a big reputation and lived up to it, dominating possession from the outset and moving the ball with pace and intelligence.
As Gerrard’s men pursued them around the Ibrox pitch, they quickly realised they were facing their most technically proficient opponents of this European campaign.
Leverkusen might have gone in front as early as the second minute when two of their most impressive performers combined with a slickness typical of the team’s overall display.
Kerem Demirbay’s crossfield pass from the left picked out Karim Bellarabi on the right of the penalty area and he will feel he should have done better than volley over from around eight yards.
Borna Barisic had to be alert to block another Bellarabi effort in the ninth minute as Leverkusen continued to impose themselves on their hosts.
It was a gruelling shift off the ball for Rangers but they maintained their defensive shape well as they attempted to contain Leverkusen.
When a through ball by Jonathan Tah was superbly brought under control by Moussa Diaby inside the home penalty area, Connor Goldson made a fine interception to deny the French forward a shot at goal.
Whenever Rangers were able to secure possession, they struggled to keep it for long as Leverkusen counter-pressed aggressively.
The frustration got the better of Glen Kamara, pictured, and the Rangers midfielder picked up the first booking of the night for a foul on Mitchell
Weiser, ruling him out of the second leg.
Havertz produced a few moments of class which illustrated why he is rated as a £100 million player by the German media. His sublime touch set up a chance for Demirbay, whose shot was comfortably held by Rangers goalkeeper Allan Mcgregor.
Having dug in manfully, Rangers were actually starting to enjoy their most promising spell of the first half when they fell behind.
Edmundson was caught on the back foot by a long ball from Leverkusen, slipping in his initial attempt to deal with it. When the ball was crossed back into the box by Aranguiz, it was Edmundson who blocked it. Before the corner initially awarded could be taken, Polish referee Szymon Marciniak was alerted to the VAR review of a potential spot-kick. The pitchside monitor showed him the ball rising up to touch Edmundson’s left hand.
Amid the cacophony of jeers from the home fans, Havertz was the coolest man inside Ibrox as he rolled the ball down the middle while Mcgregor dived to his left.
As Rangers tried to find an immediate response, they had a loud but optimistic penalty appeal of their own but a cross by James Tavernier clearly hit Tah in the back.
At the start of the second half Rangers brought much greater intensity and conviction to their work, at last managing to spend sustained periods on the front foot inside the Leverkusen half.
There may have been a degree of the visitors being content to try to hold what they had but there was no doubt they were struggling to find their earlier fluency.
Florian Kamberi replaced Joe Aribo eight minutes after the break, providing an extra attacking dimension alongside Alfredo Morelos, and
Leverkusen’s defence was under real pressure for the first time.
Lukas Hradecky had seen little of the action but the Leverkusen goalkeeper’s first save of the night was an excellent one, getting down to his right to keep out a shot by Morelos who had been played in by Tavernier. It then needed a tremendous last-ditch tackle by Tah to prevent Morelos getting on the end of a low Kamberi cross as Rangers strove for an equaliser.
But just as it seemed the momentum was with Gerrard’s side, they found themselves 2-0 down in the 67th minute. Steven Davis did well to clear a volley by Aranguiz off the line but when Rangers were unable to fully clear the resulting corner, Aranguiz was there again to guide a fine first-time strike beyond Mcgregor from 20 yards.
Having shown outstanding resilience and character to overcome a 2-0 deficit to beat Braga 3-2 at Ibrox in the previous round, Rangers gave their fans hope of another rousing comeback when Edmundson headed home Tavernier’s corner with 15 minutes left.
But Leverkusen settled any nerves they were feeling, and probably the outcome of the tie as well, when Bailey curled a sumptuous finish beyond Mcgregor in the 88th minute. RANGERS: Mcgregor, Tavernier (Polster 85), Goldson, Edmundson, Barisic; Kamara (Hagi 68), Davis, Arfield; Aribo (Kamberi 53), Morelos, Kent. Subs not used: Foderingham, Ojo, Halliday, Katic.
BAYER LEVERKUSEN: Hradecky, Tah, Dragovic, Tapsoba (Paulinho 68); Weiser, Havertz, Aranguiz, Demirbay (Baumgartlinger 81), Wendell; Bellarabi (Bailey 62), Diaby. Subs not used: Ozcan, Palacios, Stanilewicz, Azhil.