Angeliño strikes late to give Leipzig advantage over Rangers

Semi-final 1st leg

RB Leipzig 1-0 Rangers

Rangers must come from behind if they are to reach their first European final in 14 years after a resolute showing was undone by a late RB Leipzig wonder strike in their Europa League semi-final first leg.

The Bundesliga hosts were limited in their opportunities but take a slender lead to Glasgow thanks to a stunning Angelino volley five minutes from time.

Ryan Kent flashed a rare chance wide for Rangers, but Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side will have to hope the tie can be salvaged at Ibrox.

For large spells, their performance in Germany was composed and resolute, with a vocal home crowd growing all the more frustrated as time ebbed away before a goal that illuminated an otherwise tense tie.

But it will be Rangers hoping to call upon a raucous Ibrox next Thursday as a night of drama and tension is teed up in Govan.

On a balmy night in eastern Germany, there was a whiff of familiarity amid the aroma of the local brew and revelry.

In 2008, Walter Smith’s team’s long and winding road to Manchester is remembered for some of the most disciplined defending you’re likely to see. Panathinaikos, Werder Bremen, Sporting Lisbon and famously Fiorentina will testify to that.

In the breathtaking Red Bull Arena, it took a moment of sheer brilliance in the 85th minute to deny Rangers another credible European clean sheet to add to the list.

As Fashion Sakala’s headed clearance descended towards Angelino on the edge of the box, the Spaniard didn’t break stride to meet the ball perfectly. An hush replaced the din inside the ground, before it was reignited when his arrowed shot rifled past Allan McGregor and into the far corner.

It was hard to stomach given Rangers’ composure and improved performance after the break, but in the first the flow of traffic towards their goal was as relentless as chanting, singing and bellowing from inside this cauldron of noise.

Star man Christopher Nkunku was the first to be frustrated as Calvin Bassey’s block denied him after a Borna Barisic lapse. Seconds later, Connor Goldson’s quick reactions halted what would have been a thundering effort from Konrad Laimer. There was a block near the line from James Tavernier, too.

Around 7,000 Rangers fans had little to shout about for pretty much all of a dour first half, but they gave it a go anyway. A nervous Scott Wright struggled to settle in attack, while Kent was isolated.

Yet, the restart would rouse a focus from the visitors almost instantly.

With Joe Aribo now playing through the middle, a quick break was led by the scampering Kent. Lukas Klostermann was left floundering by one jink and duke after another, allowing the Englishman to rifle the ball across goal. The Rangers fans in the far corner gasped as it flew just past the far post.

The game finally crackled and sparked into the encounter the venue, crowd and occasion deserved. Nkunku rammed a right-foot shot at goal that McGregor did well to get his palms as the rattled hosts replied instantly.

But Nkunku’s class and poise would soon desert him. The gifted Frenchman, who has 30 goals this season, snuck past John Lundstram, and rounded McGregor but, with the goal gaping, hoisted an off-balance shot high and wide. It may still be travelling through the night sky.

As the seconds ebbed away, the intense pressure on Rangers’ defence ramped up, with Angelino’s moment of class bringing bedlam to the Red Bull Arena.