October 22, (THEWILL) – Rangers, the Scottish Premiership champions, won their first Europa League match of the season 2-0 at Ibrox in Scotland against Brondby, the Danish Super League champions.
Leon Balogun and Kemar Roofe scored in the first half to lift Steven Gerrard’s side off the bottom of Group A. Balogun, the Super Eagles’ centre-back, scored his first goal for the club with a thumping 18th-minute header from James Tavernier’s corner.
Both teams were looking for their first goals in Group A after going scoreless in their first two games. Balogun, who scored his first goal for Nigeria in this month’s world cup qualifiers, did so to for his club in his 40th appearance, as Rangers also broke their Europa League 2021/2022 duck early on.
Then, when Andrija Pavlovic missed a great chance to equalise from close range, the visitors were punished as the hosts doubled their lead through Roofe’s tap-in after half an hour.
The former Leeds United striker was initially denied by the offside flag after Alfredo Morelos’ header was saved, but that decision was overturned after a consultation with VAR.
Within seconds of the second half starting, Brondby squandered another great chance when Uhre shot wide after Borna Barisic’s errant pass sent him clear on goal.
That was the closest the visitors came to mounting a comeback and handing Rangers their fourth defeat in five European home matches.
Later on, Scott Arfield and Fashion Sakala came close to adding a third goal for Gerrard’s side, but they held on for the win and a crucial three points.
Rangers move up to third place in the table with these three points, while Brondby are in last place with only one point. Rangers travel to Denmark in a fortnight for the rematch, so the two sides will not have to wait long to face each other again.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
