Eintracht Frankfurt won the 2021/22 Europa League on Wednesday night as they emerged victorious against Rangers on penalties in Seville.
Joe Aribo opened the scoring shortly after the break but Frankfurt came roaring back and tied things up through Rafael Santos Borre’s clever finish which sent the game to extra-time and eventually penalties, where the Germans would go on to claim victory.
After the opening ten minutes were disrupted by a nasty head injury to Sebastian Rode, the first opportunity fell Frankfurt’s way. Daichi Kamada’s run caused havoc in the box and the ball found its way to Djibril Sow 18 yards out, but the midfielder’s strike was well saved by Allan McGregor.
McGregor was needed again to keep the score level as Ansgar Knauff cut inside from the right wing and fired at the Scot’s near post.
Rangers first real opportunity came through Aribo. Filling in for Kemar Roofe in attack, the Nigerian turned dangerously on the edge of the box and fired from range, sending his effort narrowly wide of Kevin Trapp’s goal.
The Gers’ desire to impose themselves on the game threatened to work against them as the half progressed, with Filip Kostic twice going close with a nice volley and a low drive around the half-hour mark.
That being said, it was Rangers who ended the half on top, but their final chance was a poor strike from distance from Ryan Jack which went soaring over the bar.
As was the case in the first half, Frankfurt came out hottest for the second 45, but Rangers were a threat on the counter and Ryan Kent should have done so much better with a yard of space in the box, slashing the ball wide under no pressure.
Shortly after, Aribo was wheeling away in celebration. A slip from Tuta gifted the Nigerian with a free path on goal and he flashed his composure to fire past Trapp and into the back of the net.
Another slip nearly cost Rangers. Connor Goldson went to the deck and Kamada found himself through, but he had to stretch to chip his effort over McGregor and couldn’t keep it under control as it nestled on the roof of the net.
With 20 minutes to go, Frankfurt got their equaliser through Borre. The Colombian did very well to get across Calvin Bassey and poke the ball into McGregor’s net to tie things up.
Both sides did their best to grab a winner, with Frankfurt perhaps seeing the better of things, but neither could make the breakthrough before the end of the 90 minutes. To extra-time, we go.
Scott Arfield fired over from distance with the first real chance of the additional period, while Bassey had to be at his best to make up for his slip and pull out a perfect last-ditch challenge on Borre.
In the final 15, Kent and Kristijan Jakic both saw long-range strikes denied, but Rangers had their best chance of the entire game with just two minutes to go as Kemar Roofe’s low cross found Kent, whose strike was saved at point-blank range by a desperate Trapp – he was also on hand to deny a free-kick from James Tavernier soon after.
Time for penalties in front of the Rangers’ end.
Tavernier, Steven Davis and Scott Arfield all netted their penalties but Aaron Ramsey’s strike was kept out by Trapp, allowing Kostic to score and put Frankfurt 4-3 up.
Roofe scored to keep Rangers alive but up stepped Borre to make it five-for-five for Frankfurt and seal Europa League glory.
GK: Kevin Trapp – 7/10 – Largely a spectator but was incredibly busy late on with some excellent saves.
CB: Almamy Toure – 7/10 – A few sketchy moments up against Kent but largely kept the Rangers man quiet.
CB: Tuta – 6/10 – Coped really well with Rangers’ attacks. Some really smart play with and without the ball. So unfortunate with his crucial slip.
CB: Evan N’Dicka – 6/10 – Looked a little more flustered than his fellow defenders but nothing to really complain about.
RM: Ansgar Knauff – 7/10 – Enjoyed a lot of space down the right and had a few nice opportunities to cross or shoot.
CM: Djibril Sow – 6/10 – Played with real energy but lacked a little discipline. Fortunate to avoid an early booking a few times.
CM: Sebastian Rode – 7/10 – Took a nasty high boot from Lundstram early on but shook it off eventually and marshalled the midfield battle.
LM: Filip Kostic – 8/10 – Typically excellent in attack and a great cross to get Frankfurt back into it.
AM: Jesper Lindstrom – 6/10 – Found space hard to come by but still caused the odd problem with some quick feet.
AM: Daichi Kamada – 6/10 – Frankfurt’s biggest threat after Kostic. His quick movement and eye for a pass caused all sorts of problems.
ST: Rafael Santos Borre – 6/10 – Put himself about but didn’t get much change out of Goldson. A great poacher’s finish.
SUB: Makoto Hasebe (58′ for Tuta) – 6/10 – Offered a bit more experience at the back.
SUB: Jens Petter Hauge (70′ for Lindstrom) – 5/10 – Didn’t have much of an impact after coming on.
SUB: Kristijan Jakic (89′ for Rode) – 5/10 – A bit scrappy.
SUB: Christopher Lenz (101′ for N’Dicka) – 5/10 – Had a tough time dealing with Sakala.
SUB: Ajdin Hrustic (106′ for Sow) – 5/10 – Pretty quiet.
GK: Allan McGregor – 6/10 – A few nice saves early on but nothing you wouldn’t really expect of him.
RB: James Tavernier – 6/10 – A really interesting battle with Kostic. Struggled in attack in the first half but accepted more of a defensive role in the second and did pretty well.
CB: Connor Goldson – 6/10 – Enjoyed his aerial duels with Borre and rarely came off second best. Caught out of position for the equaliser.
CB: Calvin Bassey – 8/10 – Some nice power to overthrow Frankfurt’s tricky forwards. Stepped up massively in extra-time.
LB: Borna Barisic – 5/10 – Really struggled up against Knauff and didn’t make his presence known in attack until being pushed higher into a wing-back role late on. Ran himself into the ground, to be fair to him.
CM: Glen Kamara – 5/10 – Some nice flicks but largely a little off the pace. Struggled to keep up with Frankfurt’s energy.
CM: John Lundstram – 6/10 – Perhaps a little fortunate to avoid an early red card for a high challenge on Rode. Made a real difference when dropping into a deeper defensive role.
CM: Ryan Jack – 5/10 – Also a little off the pace as well. Didn’t offer much cover to his defence and was wasteful when going forward.
RW: Scott Wright – 6/10 – A surprise starter but probably Rangers’ best forward. Dropped deep to pick up possession and turned quickly to get things going. Saw his influence fade as things progressed.
ST: Joe Aribo – 7/10 – Worked very hard for little reward for the majority of the game but got the luck he deserved with his goal.
LW: Ryan Kent – 6/10 – Quite underwhelming in attack but his high press was very effective.
SUB: Steven Davis (74′ for Jack) – 6/10 – Looked tired almost straight after coming on but did a nice job of controlling things.
SUB: Fashion Sakala (74′ for Wright) – 6/10 – Didn’t hold the ball up enough but saw his performance improve when up against Lenz.
SUB: Scott Arfield (91′ for Kamara) – 6/10 – Offered a nice influx of energy in the second half. Was even playing as a striker for some reason.
SUB: James Sands (101′ for Aribo) – 6/10 – Didn’t really have a lot to do.
SUB: Kemar Roofe (117′ for Barisic) – N/A
SUB: Aaron Ramsey (117′ for Sakala) – N/A
