Bye bye RB! RB Leipzig experienced a rude awakening in the deafeningly loud Ibrox cauldron and bitterly gambled away the chance of their first European Cup victory.
In the unleashed fighting Glasgow Rangers, a much too harmless Bundesliga runner-up lost the semi-final second leg in the Europa League on Thursday 1: 3 (0: 2). Despite the 1-0 lead from the first leg, RB has to bury the dream of the final on May 18 in Seville.
“That was not enough. It wasn’t enough for a semi-final,” said RB managing director Oliver Mintzlaff on “RTL +”: “We have to state that our performance was not sufficient. We expected more. If you don’t put that on the speed you can’t win a semi-final. It’s a huge disappointment.”
James Tavernier (18′), Glen Kamara (24′) and John Lundstram (80′) fired the Scots, who had already eliminated Borussia Dortmund, into their first international final since the 2008 UEFA Cup final. Christopher Nkunku (70. ) scored for Leipzig, who suffered the next setback. In the league, the Saxons slipped out of the premier class ranks after two defeats. After Glasgow’s bankruptcy, there is still a chance for the title in the DFB Cup final on May 21 against SC Freiburg.
In the Ibrox, RB also had to play against the backdrop. “I think all players know what to expect here, not only on the field but also outside. The fans here are huge,” RB coach Domenico Tedesco said before the game on “RTL +”.
It was difficult at the beginning. Whipped up by the frenetic crowd, Rangers started with a lot of vigor. Tedesco had announced that Glasgow was expecting a lot more attacking than in the first leg. He was right. From a distance, Ryan Jack (7th) tested RB goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi early on, who kept it safe. But suddenly something happened that shouldn’t have happened.
Ryan Kent broke through on the left, sped into the box and found Tavernier at the far post, who had to push in – Ibrox was seething. And Leipzig was so impressed that they lacked the resources for a quick response. The Rangers followed suit. Scott Wright was far too easily able to allude to the free camera on the edge of the penalty area. His well-placed shot rushed into the bottom left of the net and in the cheering dance a red body of smoke flew from the ranks onto the lawn.
Szoboszlai revitalizes the Leipzig game
In this phase, Leipzig tried to somehow stop the courageously attacking Scots, a shot from Dani Olmo (28th) from around 16 meters went just over it. But Glasgow provided the right wow moments. After a strong cross from the left, Joe Aribo made it through just a minute after Olmo’s attempt in the middle, but hit over the ball from three yards out.
After the break, RB looked for possible gaps in the Rangers defense, for opportunities to combine. But even now the guests lacked the consistency in attack that Glasgow came up with.
Tedesco brought on Dominik Szoboszlai in the middle of the second half for Olmo, who was struggling when he was substituted. And it worked, RB had more momentum up front. First Konrad Laimer (70th) failed at Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor before Nkunku sank an Angelino cross seconds later. The hope of turning the tide was short-lived: Lundstram let the Ibrox rage again with Glasgow’s third goal.