Rangers 3 RB Leipzig 1 (3-2 on agg): Light Blues heading to Europa League final in Seville as Lundstram strike seals it
JIMMY BELL dedicated his life to the Rangers shirt.
At Ibrox the players who adored him played for the jerseys like never before.
Those light blue tops were left soaked in sweat as Giovanni Van Bronckhorst’s side produced the performance of their lives.
They’re on their way, they’re on their way, to Sevilla, they’re on their way.
Oh how their legendary kitman would have loved this.
James Tavernier and Glenn Kamara fired Rangers into a first-half lead but after Christopher Nkunku levelled the tie on aggregate their fate was hanging in the balance.
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That’s when John Lundstram stepped forward to send 50,000 Rangers supporters inside Ibrox delirious - as well as countless more all around the world.
Those fans have spent the season singing he was the best on earth - here he showed why.
It wasn’t like Rangers went into this game with everything in their favour.
The Ibrox side have been seriously weakened as an attacking force since Alfredo Morelos was told his season was over.
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Kemar Roofe has looked confident in the frontman role as his stand-in.
Yet the fact he wasn’t able to shake off a knee injury in time for this one was a real boost to Leipzig even before a ball was kicked.
Roofe wasn’t even able to take a seat on the bench with his manager clearly unconvinced that he’d be able to make any sort of impact whatsoever, even late on.
It all pointed to this being a step too far for Rangers, that the footballing Gods were now conspiring against them when Van Bronckhorst needed their help most.
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And yet Rangers still believed.
They dared to dream the dream that this would be the year of their lives. And turn it into a reality.
Taking the lead after 19 minutes was exactly what Rangers needed.
It didn’t just level the tie on aggregate and cancel out Leipzig’s 1-0 lead from last week’s first-leg, it also gave the team a tremendous amount of confidence.
The Bundesliga outfit didn’t do a lot wrong before falling behind and had looked more likely to be the team to score first.
Yet conceding rattled them.
It a terrific goal too from Rangers’ point of view. Kamara did well initially to shield the ball on the touchline before setting Ryan Kent scarpering into the box.
The winger then lifted his head and played an outstanding cross to the back post where Tavernier smashed the ball into the net.
It was a simple enough finish in the end but there were hard yards he put in to get up the pitch and score his 16th goal of the season.
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‘We’re on our way, we’re on our way, to Sevilla, we’re on our way,’ sang the home fans.
And within five minutes they took another step closer to the Spanish city.
Going 2-0 ahead after 25 minutes had men, woman and children holding their heads in their hands, almost in disbelief at what they were witnessing.
But it was real.
Joe Aribo combined with Scott Wright before Kamara was given a glimpse of goal from outside the box.
He had not right whatsoever to hit the net from where he was.
Yet with clinical accuracy the midfielder calmly guided the ball into the corner of the net with a sublime strike.
If Leipzig didn’t already know they were in a game they did there and then.
But on the half-hour mark Rangers really should have scored a third goal to virtually make it game over.
Joe Aribo was in the right place at the right time to get on the end of headed knock-down from Tavernier.
But with everyone inside Ibrox jumping to their feet expecting him to volley home, the makeshift frontman sliced his effort up into the air.
There and then everyone feared it would prove to be a massive moment. It was just too big a chance to miss.
The Germans still carried a threat going forward with Portuguese referee Artur Diaz was becoming increasingly twitchy.
First-half bookings for defenders Calvin Bassey, Connor Goldson and Borna Barisic meant they had to be extra careful when throwing themselves into challenges.
Rangers were putting their bodies on their line everywhere you looked.
There was a blow just before the break, quite literally, when Aribo took the full force of a smashed free kick in the face and had to be taken off.
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Fashion Sakala took his place and the Zambian brought a different threat to the Rangers attacks with his energy and tenacity compensating for his lack of quality.
With half an hour to play Van Bronckhorst made two more changes with Ryan Jack and Wright making way for Scott Arfield and Leon Balogun.
The alteration saw John Lundstram shift from defence into midfield where his determination to shut people down was needed.
Rangers lost their way and Leipzig started to show their class.
Midfielder Konrad Laimer ran through on goal and looked all set to score but was denied by a brilliant save from Allan McGregor.
But within 60 seconds the Rangers No1 was beaten.
A ball into the box from Angelino was volleyed into the net by Nkunku with Rangers pegged back.
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Suddenly Van Bronckhorst’s side looked jaded and vulnerable but they somehow managed to recover and score a third.
The Leipzig goalkeeper failed to properly deal with a Kent cross and when the ball fell for Lundstram he fired into the back of the net.
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Ryan Jack celebrates at full time
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