Soccer

Europa League wrap: Rangers and Brighton crash out as West Ham progress

Benfica hand Rangers a one-goal defeat at Ibrox while West Ham power past Freiburg in style with five-goal display

Connor Goldson of Rangers looks dejected after the team's defeat in the Europa League. Photograph: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

Thu Mar 14 2024 - 22:08
Europa League: Rangers 0 Benfica 1

Rangers were knocked out of the Europa League after conceding the only goal against Benfica at Ibrox to lose 3-2 on aggregate.

Philippe Clement’s side were caught on the counter-attack by a simple forward ball in the 66th minute and Rafa Silva’s goal stood following a VAR check after initially being ruled out for offside.

Rangers had twice taken the lead in Lisbon last week but a penalty and an own goal cost them victory in the first leg and they could not take advantage of several chances in a tighter affair in Glasgow.

The Rangers fans in the Broomloan Stand produced a massive pre-match display that showed their sights were very much on the road to Dublin for the final on May 22 ahead of the last-16 second leg.

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But there will be no repeat of the club’s run to the 2022 final and the cinch Premiership leaders must now focus on what could still be a highly successful domestic season with a treble a real possibility.

The vast majority of the 50,000 fans, including the Benfica supporters, paid tribute in the 25th minute to young Rangers fan Thomas McAllister, who died while in Lisbon for the first leg.

The first half continued in a more cagey fashion than that 2-2 draw in Portugal.

The home side had a great chance on the counter-attack before the break following good work from Wright, but Lawrence picked the wrong option and played in a clearly offside Dessers.

The home side kept on the pressure but Benfica worked a good chance for Casper Tengstedt following a slick break. The substitute shot straight at Butland from 12 yards.

Rangers were again exposed from a counter-attack as Benfica took the lead for the first time in the tie.

Angel Di Maria headed on a ball over the top and Rafa Silva raced clear before slotting home. The offside flag went up but a lengthy VAR check decided the goalscorer was just inside his own half when the ball was played on, and the goal was given.

Rangers’ attempts to get back in the game were not helped by the surface water on the pitch slowing the ball down amid a day of incessant rain in Glasgow and Butland saved well from Bah as Benfica looked to finish off the tie.

Lundstram got an effort on target in the latter stages but Trubin saved comfortably and Rangers’ hopes ended when substitute Todd Cantwell stabbed wide in stoppage-time

West Ham 5 Freiburg 0

West Ham United's Vladimir Coufal (left) has a shot on goal vs Freiburg in the Europa League. Photograph: Nigel French/PA Wire

David Moyes took the handbrake off West Ham and watched them race into the last eight of the Europa League with a 5-0 win over Freiburg.

Hammers boss Moyes uncharacteristically named an attacking line-up in a bid to repair the damage of the 1-0 first-leg defeat in Germany last week.

He was rewarded with a sparkling display as goals from Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen, Aaron Cresswell and two from Mohammed Kudus – including a sensational solo effort – secured a 5-1 aggregate win and a place in a European quarter-final for a third-successive season.

As a consequence the Hammers may have also done some of their Premier League rivals a favour, with the result pushing England ahead of Germany in UEFA’s coefficient rankings, which could mean an extra spot in Europe next season.

There were fears that a crackling atmosphere might be difficult to find, with many fans unable to make the match due to the unusual 5.45pm kick-off time.

But the London Stadium was still almost full and it erupted after just nine minutes as Freiburg saw their advantage wiped out.

Cresswell swung in a third-successive corner, Tomas Soucek stooped to flick the ball on and the unmarked Paqueta slid it in at the far post.

Just after the half-hour mark, West Ham had their second as Bowen celebrated his latest call-up to the England squad in style, shrugging off the attentions of Freiburg captain Christian Gunter before lashing home from 20 yards.

Six minutes into the second half, Bowen’s square ball across the box was deflected out to Cresswell, lurking on the edge of the area.

The left-back, who was the fall guy in Frankfurt two years when his red card in the semi-final against Eintracht cost West Ham dearly, took a touch before leathering the ball inside the far post.

The best was still to come, despite there being little sign of danger when Kudus picked the ball up deep inside his own half.

The former Ajax wideman sprinted around 70 yards, slicing through the heart of the Freiburg defence before casually rolling the ball into the net.

No wonder Kudus felt the need to borrow a photographer’s stool and sit down in front of the delirious home fans as his team-mates celebrated around him.

The rest had clearly done Kudus good, as he promptly collected Bowen’s lay-off and dispatched a low drive from 20 yards to complete West Ham’s five-star display.

Europa League scores

Rangers 0 Benfica 1 - Benfica win 3-2 on aggregate

Slavia Prague 1 AC Milan 3 - AC Milan win 7-3 on aggregate

Villareal 1 Marseille 3 - Marseille win 5-3 on aggregate

West Ham 5 Freiburg 0 - West Ham win 5-1 on aggregate

Brighton 1 Roma 0 - Roma win 4-1 on aggregate

Atalanta 2 Sporting CP 1 - Atalanta win 3-2 on aggregate

Bayer Leverkusen 3 Qarabag 2 - Bayer Leverkusen win 5-4 on aggregate

Liverpool 6 Sparta Prague 1 - Liverpool win 6-1 on aggregate


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