Rangers reach Europa League final after hammering RB Leipzig in 60th match of campaign
![Rangers reach Europa League final after hammering RB Leipzig in 60th match of campaign](/thumb/phpThumb.php?src=%2Fuploads%2Fnews%2F34%2F3479%2F2%2F3479239-rangers-reach-europa-league-final-after-hammering-rb-leipzig-in-60th-match-of-ca.jpg&w=750&hash=bc2c8d6c1548426c8436319ab3d400eb)
As their fans commemorate their 150th birthday and the 50th anniversary of their only European success – the Cup Winners’ Cup win of 1972 – Rangers once more confounded expectations with goals from James Tavernier, Glen Kamara and John Lundstram to take their place in the Europa League final in Seville, where they will face Eintracht Frankfurt, conquerors of West Ham.
This was Rangers’ 60th game of the season – and their 18th of a European campaign which began at the Swedbank Stadium in Malmo in a Champions League qualifier on August 3 last year – and was yet another in a sequence which had imposed substantial demands on Giovanni van Bronkhorst’s squad. Since the beginning of April, they had negotiated three Old Firm derbies, a Europa League quarter-final against Braga and the first leg of their meeting with Leipzig and Scottish Premiership games at St Mirren - where Kemar Roofe scored his first hat-trick for the club - and Motherwell, where they won 3-1 despite being down to 10 men for most of the proceedings.
Van Bronckhorst navigated the sequence without Alfredo Morelos and Ianis Hagi, both of whom would have been guaranteed starters but for injuries which ruled them out for the rest of the season. In the run-up to this game, moreover, he could not be certain that Roofe or Aaron Ramsey, also injury victims, would be available to face Leipzig.
In the event, Roofe did not make it and Ramsey was on the bench, as the manager went with a back four reinforced by John Lundstram when in retreat and a front three of Scott Wright, Joe Aribo and Ryan Kent. Domenico Tedesco, the Leipzig manager, had predicted that Rangers would have to be more expansive than in the first leg and that such a strategy would allow them to be picked off by his players.
By half time, Tedesco’s words echoed in mockery as Rangers left the field two goals to the good. Jack had already seen a deflected drive taken by Peter Galacsi when Tavernier put the home side ahead after 18 minutes. Kamara, on the left, freed Kent to take the ball into the box and angle a pass to the back post where Willi Orban was caught dozing by Tavernier’s sliding contact as the Rangers captain claimed his eighth goal of the knockout stages.
Five minutes later, Rangers created menace on the opposite flank, where Aribo and Wright combined to set Kamara up for a low angled finish beyond Galacsi. Leipzig looked stunned, although Aribo was literally so in first half injury time when he took a free kick from Angelino full on the face and was stretchered from the field, to be replaced by Fashion Sakala.
![Glen Kamara of Rangers celebrates with Ryan Kent after scoring their sides second goal during the UEFA Europa League Semi Final Leg Two match between Rangers and RB Leipzig at Ibrox Stadium on May 05, 2022 in Glasgow, Scotland.](/thumb/phpThumb.php?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fcontent%2Fdam%2Ffootball%2F2022%2F05%2F05%2FTELEMMGLPICT000295006399_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqqv0Fju-aeb1W9_3jsknJjVHmPOpeFd0SyQx9dn7kM_w.jpeg%3Fimwidth%3D480&w=728&hash=e0d930db54cb9c5ee409baed469d10be)
That aside, the concern for Rangers after the break was three of their back four – Connor Goldson, Calvin Bassey and Borna Barisic – had been cautioned.
Urged forward ceaselessly by their full-throated support, Rangers replaced Wright with Scott and Jack with Leon Balogun but now it was Leipzig’s turn to open the throttle and Allan McGregor produced a classic save to deny a breakthrough by Konrad Laimer. The veteran goalkeeper could not, however, do anything about Nkunku’s sublime volley from a diagonal lob by Angelino which looked set to take the tie to extra time – until Lundstram’s climactic strike.