Rangers 2 – 2 B Dortmund

February 24, 2022 admin

Rangers booked their spot in the last 16 of the Europa League after a thrilling 2-2 draw against Borussia Dortmund in the knockout round play-off second leg at Ibrox to win 6-4 on aggregate.

Given the fact Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men had stunned their opponents with a 4-2 win in the first leg at the Westfalenstadion last week, it was clear the tempo was going to be high from the start. And with an electric atmosphere inside Ibrox, the clash certainly lived up to expectations.

Rangers pressed high from the first whistle, but were soon put under the cosh and given a scare by last season’s Champions League quarter-finalists inside five minutes when Jude Bellingham barged into the box and bundled the ball off the right-hand upright.

Against the run of play, though, the hosts were awarded a penalty midway through the first half. Ryan Kent was tripped in the box and captain James Tavernier stepped up to do the honours; he took one deep breath and smashed his spot-kick past Gregor Kobel.

But Dortmund were not to go quietly. Allan McGregor made a superb save that belied his 40 years to deny Julian Brandt, before Bellingham seized on an awkward attempted clearance from Connor Goldson to fire in a clinical equaliser.

Before the break, they added a second to lead on the night when Brandt’s ball into the six-yard box was not cleared by the Gers’ backline, allowing the lively Donyell Malen to prod in.

Van Bronckhorst brought on Leon Balogun in place of Borna Barisic at half-time and subsequently switched to a back five, which stumped the Bundesliga side. And just over 10 minutes after the break, Tavernier equalised for Rangers with his second of the night, lashing in a volley after connecting with an inviting cross from Calvin Bassey.

Shortly afterwards, Ibrox erupted for a third time when Alfredo Morelos led a breakaway and squared for Kent to roll in, but after reviewing the incident on the pitchside monitor, referee Mateu Lahoz ruled the goal out for a foul on Emre Can in the build-up, despite replays showing he had, in fact, gone to ground after tripping on Morelos’ leg.

But it mattered little as Rangers held on for a famous victory.

Man of the match – James Tavernier

While Ryan Kent turned in a performance of the absolute highest quality, it is hard to look past the Rangers captain, particularly given it was his two goals that helped the Gers through to the last 16 for the third season running.

As he so often does, he kept his cool under pressure to net the opener from the spot with aplomb, before hitting the sweetest of volleys from Calvin Bassey’s left-wing cross to level the tie on the night and help his side advance.

A famous Rangers win in numbers

Rangers have qualified for the Round of 16 in the UEFA Europa League for a third consecutive season, which is their longest streak of reaching at least this stage in a major European competition since a run of three between 2005-06 and 2007-08 – they reached the final of the UEFA Cup in the last of that previous run (2008).
Rangers are the first side to score 6+ goals against Borussia Dortmund across a two-legged European knockout tie since Monaco did so in the quarter-finals of the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League (6-3 on aggregate).
James Tavernier has scored three goals for Rangers in the UEFA Europa League this season (all against Borussia Dortmund), as many as he had netted in his 25 games in the competition prior to 2021-22.
Since Erling Haaland’s first European game for Borussia Dortmund in February 2020, the German side have only won 29% of their games across all European competitions when he hasn’t played (2/7), compared to 54% when he has featured for them (7/13).

What’s next?

Rangers are back in Scottish Premiership action on Sunday when they host Motherwell at Ibrox; kick-off 3pm.

Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund are also back to league action on Sunday when they travel to Augsburg in the Bundesliga; kick-off 4.30pm, live on Sky Sports Mix.