Europa League
Frankfurt dominated the Europa League Grand Final, up to 150,000 fans came to Seville
The duel between Frankfurt and Rangers offered an attractive match, the full stadium was decorated with the presentation of fans on both sides and the Europa League final got an unprecedented momentum.
The duel between Frankfurt and Rangers offered an attractive match, the full stadium was decorated with the presentation of fans on both sides and the Europa League final got an unprecedented momentum.
The start of the match brought activity from both sides. Rangers’ constructive defence was quickly disrupted by Eintracht’s offensive approach to the game, which created a lot of pressure. In the 20th minute Ansgar Knauff got the first major opportunity and just missed the opponent’s goal.
On the other side, Joe Aribo threatened Trapp’s goal from outside the box, and that was it from both sides. Rangers struggled to control the game, with Frankfurt more likely to threaten from counter attacks.
Pyrotechnics on the German side kicked off the second half and the Eintracht players unleashed some dangerous pressure, but it didn’t result in a goal. In the 56th minute, VAR had to intervene to support the Rangers players and a speculative tackle did not end in a penalty kick.
A kick-off by goalkeeper Trapp followed, from which stemmed a counter-attack that ended in a goal. Joe Aribo scored coolly to send the Rangers into the lead.
In the 67th minute, Daiachi Kamada came close to equalizing but missed the net. However, action followed when Rafael Borre converted his experience in the penalty area which resulted in a goal to level the scores at 1-1.
The extra time started with defensive football, with neither team wanting to make a fatal mistake. The game got moving in the 115th minute when Kristijan Jakic just slightly overshot the opponent’s goal. Towards the end of extra time Kevin Trapp pulled off a crucial save when Ryan Kent could have made the difference. The final whistle then goes to penalty kicks.
In the fourth round of penalty kicks, Aaron Ramsey missed a penalty right down the middle. Eintracht Frankfurt are the Europa League winners for this season.
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