April 29, (THEWILL) – RB Leipzig defeated Rangers 1-0 in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final with a spectacular goal from Angelino only five minutes from time.
Rangers had played outstanding defence throughout and appeared to have weathered all Leipzig could throw at them.
However, with just five minutes remaining on the clock at the Red Bull Arena, the home crowd went crazy when their Spanish hero scored from the edge of the box to give them the victory.
Rangers stood back with their back five, which included midfielder John Lundstram, and invited Leipzig to break them down throughout the first 45 minutes.
On 17 minutes, Benjamin Henrichs supplied the highly regarded Christopher Nkunku into the box, but his lack of control allowed Calvin Bassey to block his effort at the second try.
Connor Goldson had a great game, as he demonstrated early on with an amazing challenge on Konrad Laimer.
The only other notable action in the first half came when Angelino, a former Manchester City winger, managed to get a shot away from the edge of the box, but Rangers captain James Tavernier stopped it before Allan McGregor was called into action.
Rangers started the second half strongly and came close to scoring on several occasions.
Ryan Kent was brought into the home side’s box after a counter-attack spearheaded by Glen Kamara and Joe Aribo, and he struck just wide and ahead of Tavernier.
With players like Nkunku, Leipzig was always going to be dangerous, and he saw a goal-bound effort stopped by McGregor as the first chance on target came just after the 50th minute.
After 70 minutes, Nkunku had the best chance of the game when he broke into the box. He got past Lundstram and took the ball past McGregor, but he missed the target.
Rangers were no longer content to sit back and watch, and Kent on the counter looked quite threatening. Late in the game, he put Peter Gulacsi to the test as the visitors looked for an improbable first-leg lead.
Leipzig came out on top, and Tyler Adams pushed McGregor into a late stop, but the Rangers goalkeeper could not do much with the resultant corner.
Rangers’ lines were cleared only as far as Angelino, who volleyed home into McGregor’s right corner, much to the pleasure of the home crowd.
Leipzig claimed a 1-0 lead going into the second leg at Ibrox, but the Scottish champions will know they have everything to play for in Glasgow next week.
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.
