GIO FLOORED AT THE FINISH
But gritty Rangers still in tie despite a late blow
THERE were times in the Red Bull Arena when you half expected to peer down and find the greying head of Walter Smith standing in a Rangers blazer, arms tightly folded on the touchline.
Fourteen years since the late, legendary manager led the Ibrox side to their last European final, a performance of pragmatism and defensive discipline earned Scotland’s champions an outstanding chance of another one.
With five minutes to play, this Europa League semi-final first leg was so nearly the perfect advert for the virtues of old-school Wattenaccio. RB Leipzig’s coveted French forward Christopher Nkunku had missed a couple of glorious second-half chances. Allan McGregor had produced two or three trademark stunning saves. Around this formidable arena frustration was mounting.
A wonderful piece of technique from former Manchester City left-back Angelino was the difference in the end. Defending a corner, Rangers substitute Fashion Sakala headed the ball to the edge of the area. Lashing the ball on the volley from 18 yards, Angelino left McGregor — this time — with no chance.
Given the way they defended for 85 minutes, Rangers were entitled to feel mild disappointment at the loss of a goal. It won’t last long. Backed by a passionate home crowd in Glasgow next Thursday night, the Ibrox side are entitled to fancy their chances of overturning the deficit to earn a crack at West Ham — or more likely Eintracht Frankfurt — in the final in Seville on May 18. The run to the UEFA Cup final of 2008 — Rangers eventually lost to Zenit St Petersburg in Manchester — was a testament to the defensive qualities of 4-5-1. As if drawing from Smith’s playbook, Giovanni van Bronckhorst sent his players out to contain and defy Leipzig until a second half when they posed a few queries of their own. It was a plan born of both realism and necessity. Without key strikers Alfredo Morelos and Kemar Roofe, the Rangers manager answered the questions over what he would do up front by going with a 5-3-2 shape. Wide men Ryan Kent and Scott Wright forged a twin pairing up front in a move which didn’t always work. At half-time, the Rangers boss showed his tactical flexibility by moving Joe Aribo into a role as a false nine and Rangers improved instantly. What they lacked in an attacking sense overall, the visitors made up for in defence where John Lundstram dropped into the centre of a three-man back line between Connor Goldson and Calvin Bassey.
Before the late goal, they rode their luck at times and endured some hairy moments. Even then they looked liable to escape with a clean sheet. Despite the pace and explosive power of Nkunku, the team currently fourth in the Bundesliga found Rangers a tough nut to crack.
Robbed of space to play in, the modern-day German giants — a last-16 side in last season’s Champions League — reverted to running down blind alleys. Until they finally grabbed their first-leg lead, they looked like a team running out of ideas.
Backed by over 30,000 home fans — 7,000 Rangers fans matched them for noise — they inevitably made chances. Equally inevitably, most of them fell to Nkunku. Unexpectedly, he blew them all.
One of European football’s most coveted talents, the 24-year-old entered the game on a record of three goals from four Europa League games. This season, in total, he has 17 goals and 15 assists in the Bundesliga. His night started badly and never really improved.
When Benjamin Heinrichs hammered a low driven ball across goal after 17 minutes, then, Rangers fans feared the worst. A poor first touch helped no end, a tremendous block by Bassey preventing Leipzig’s dangerman from thumping the ball into the net with his second.
Just when it looked as if Rangers were growing into the game, Leipzig came close to the opener after half an hour when a ferocious Angelino shot was blocked by James Tavernier.
The game scoreless at half-time, Rangers could be happy with that. In truth, Leipzig had been nowhere near as threatening as expected.
Recognising the need to get the team up the pitch, however, Van Bronckhorst changed the shape. One of the options before kick-off was the selection of Nigerian midfielder Aribo as a makeshift forward. A false nine in the modern parlance, it made an immediate difference.
Four minutes after the restart, Aribo fed Kent wide on the left. Twisting and turning, the wide man went on the outside and smashed a fizzing low drive beyond the far post. Suddenly Rangers were asking questions.
They did it again minutes later when Aribo’s intelligent knockdown to captain Tavernier produced a rising half volley which crashed off the back of a defender and out for a corner. Buoyed by the physicality of Aribo in the attacking third, this was more like it.
It took 54 minutes for Leipzig to
give McGregor a save to make. A fine save it was too, the 40-year-old keeper brilliantly parrying a rising shot at goal by Nkunku from 18 yards.
McGregor famously missed the latter stages of the 2008 run with an injury. His hopes of making amends on May 18 were given a huge boost with 20 minutes to play when Nkunku carved out — then missed — an outstanding chance.
Showing explosive pace to burst through the defence, the No 18 took the ball round McGregor and looked certain to hammer into an unguarded net. All he had to do was sidefoot the ball home. Instead he went for the World Cup finish, leaning back and smashing the ball over the crossbar from 12 yards.
The home crowd howled in disbelief. They knew time was running out.
The dam finally burst in the final minutes. American international midfielder Tyler Adams thought he’d scored when he made space on the edge of the area for a rising shot tipped brilliantly over the bar by McGregor.
You started to feel then that Rangers would make it out of this brilliant footballing temple unscathed and sitting pretty for Seville. Not so fast was the cry; Angelino had other ideas.