Ryan Kent shines as Rangers hit five past Antwerp and reach last 16
Steven Gerrard has no reason to care about broader endorsement of the progress he has overseen at Rangers. The imminent arrival of a long-awaited domestic title at Ibrox will afford Gerrard and his players a level of status magnified by years of frustration. Still, progression to the last 16 of the Europa League for a second season in a row does no harm whatsoever to the profile of Rangers, their manager and a group of players who will now inevitably draw external interest.
There was the odd anxious moment against Royal Antwerp but Rangers were worthy of their latest success. The Scottish club are yet to lose over 90 minutes in Europe this season, having started their Europa League campaign in the second qualifying round. The second knock-out round needn’t be their ceiling, given the potency and ruthlessness they displayed against a sloppy Antwerp team. No wonder Gerrard claimed he is “buzzing” for Friday’s draw.
“Over the course of the two legs we have scored nine and we saw that was where the opposition weakness was,” said the Rangers manager. “We wanted to be very bold and we picked two very aggressive, ambitious teams. The players deserve all the plaudits that will come their way.”
Last week’s wonderfully entertaining first leg was due in no small part to woeful defending, and Antwerp were baring gifts within 10 minutes of kickoff here as Jérémy Gelin made an almighty mess of a back pass. Ryan Kent nipped in to steal the ball for the hosts, with the ex-Liverpool man’s cut back allowing Alfredo Morelos to stroke into an empty net. Kent and Morelos were to torture the Antwerp back line on umpteen occasions thereafter.
At 5-3 ahead, Rangers should have been set for a comfortable evening. An angled drive from Ianis Hagi stung the palms of Ortwin de Wolf as Gerrard’s men looked to settle the tie. Yet after such a rocky opening – and perhaps while recalling the defensive frailty of
Rangers – Antwerp responded.
Jordan Lukaku’s play on the left wing proved too much for Leon Balogun to handle. His cross found Lior Refaelov, Antwerp’s star man from the first leg, and his calm finish, flicked beyond Allan McGregor, restored parity on the night.
Nathan Patterson should be known for his talent – he is arguably the finest young player in Scotland. Instead, the 19-year-old grabbed headlines as one of five Rangers players who breached Covid protocols at a flat party. Isolation ruled Patterson out of the first leg. Within just 20 seconds Patterson – only introduced at half-time – burst forward to collect a Morelos pass and beat De Wolf at his far post. If not forgotten, all is surely now forgiven.
Morelos continued his positive influence on the game by pulling the ball back for Kent to notch Rangers’ third. De Wolf got a hand to his closerange shot but was ultimately powerless.
Antwerp now had no option but to perform with gay abandon, and were assisted for their second goal by Rangers. McGregor collided with his centreback Connor Goldson as Didier Lamkel Zé lurked in pursuit of a long ball. The clean-up work was provided by the striker, who finished from an acute angle. Some 148 minutes between Antwerp and Rangers had by now produced 12 goals.
The unlucky 13th for Antwerp arrived from the penalty spot. Martin Hongla bundled Morelos to the ground, and Borna Barisic stepped forward to complete a hat-trick of penalties over the two games. Barisic then handed the ball to Cedric Itten as a stoppage-time
spot-kick was awarded for a foul on Scott Wright. Itten, finally, brought the scoring to an end.