Rangers 0 – 2 Slavia Prague

The nine-player Rangers crashed out of the Europa League after a 2-0 home loss to Slavia Prague, emerging from European second-division competition 1-3 on aggregate.

Steven Gerrard’s team may have held a slight lead after drawing 1-1 in the first leg in the Czech capital last week, until Peter Olayinka led the visitors after 17 minutes.

The Rangers’ task was made even more difficult when substitute Kemar Roofe received a direct red card minutes after going in for a high boot on Slavia goalkeeper Ondrej Kolar, who stretched just after the scheduled time.

And when Leon Balogun was also sent off with 17 minutes to go after receiving a second yellow card, with Nicolae Stanciu immediately putting even more pressure on the hosts by converting the resulting free throw, the Rangers knew the game was over.

How the Rangers’ European dream came to an end

When the game started … a series of huge explosions could be heard that lasted more than two minutes, as the Rangers supporters gathered on the outskirts of Ibrox, despite pleas from the club and the authorities to stay home. , they launched fireworks.

It did not affect the initial flow of the game that began to pace, with Ryan Kent threatening on the edge of the area before his center was cleared; Slavia then broke and Balogun made a last minute punt from his own line to prevent the visitors from getting ahead.

Slavia had beaten Leicester City in the last 32 matches by impressively dismantling their opponents at the King Power Stadium, and did not appear to care about Rangers’ impressive European record with Gerrard of just five losses in 44 matches.

They continued to advance and were rewarded after 13 minutes, when Olayinka accelerated a header from a Jan Boril cross at the near post, despite Allan McGregor’s best efforts to put a hand on the post.

The Rangers responded immediately, as Kent’s low shot was well saved by Ondrej Kolar. Yet they seemed at times a half-step slower than their confident opponents who, like the Rangers, were undefeated in their national league and had lost just three times in all competitions so far this season.

Kent was the Rangers’ best source of promise. The winger repeatedly pushed the Slavia defense; Kudela, who was deservedly reserved, stopped a jumping race, but the play was to no avail.

Glen Kamara was then warned after colliding with Alexander Bah, although the Dane’s exaggerated response made the challenge seem worse than it actually was. It meant Kamara would miss the first leg of the quarterfinals if his team progressed, but they showed little sign of leveling the tie.

Alfredo Morelos had been calm, but turned on the edge of the area and fired a deflected shot from the far post in the 42nd minute. It was the closest the Rangers got to the draw, but then they had a big scare in injury time. First half.

Balogun faltered in the left-back area and was stolen by Abdallah Sima who entered the area, but as the pair got closer to goal, the defender somehow managed to put a leg on the ball to clear it, as Slavia appealed to no avail for fine.

The Rangers were in dire need of inspiration, and Roofe was introduced shortly after halftime for Scott Arfield, but it lasted only seven minutes.

Chasing a long ball as Kolar advanced from goal, Roofe raised his foot high to get a touch, but his follow-through slammed into the goalkeeper’s face knocking him out. The red card for endangering the opponent was unavoidable, and Kolar was brought down on a stretcher as Roofe walked sadly down the tunnel.

Now it took a Herculean effort to save this tie, and Nathan Patterson did his best with a knitting run, even though his throw was too high. The young winger needed to be perfect as the last man to deny Bah, as he threatened to put the game out of the Rangers’ reach.

Any hope Rangers had left was quickly extinguished minutes later. First Balogun, who had been booked in the first half, received a second yellow card for a forceful tackle on substitute Lukas Masopust. From the resulting free kick, Stanciu’s superb shot outscored McGregor, leaving the Rangers needing three goals in 16 minutes with nine men.

Slavia was hungry for more goals, and Kamara was forced to clear at the back post to prevent Sima from tapping on a third. Then there were chaotic scenes when Ondrej Kudela appeared to elicit an angry reaction from Kamara, Bongani Zungu and Connor Goldson, who was booked along with Kudela afterwards. It was an unpleasant way to end an evening that had promised a lot, but quickly turned sour for the Rangers.

Rangers’ long undefeated home run ends – Opta stats

• Rangers have suffered their first home loss of the season, having been undefeated in all 21 matches at Ibrox in all competitions to date (20 wins, 1 draw).
• Rangers have now been eliminated from seven of their eight Europa League / UEFA Cup knockout rounds, only advancing against SV Werder Bremen in 2007-08.
• Slavia Prague achieved their first away win against a Scottish rival in Europe (1 win, 2 losses), while the Czech team reached the Europa League / UEFA Cup quarter-finals for the fourth time (1995-96 , 1999-00, 2018-19 and 2020-21).
• Slavia Prague’s Peter Oladeji Olayinka has recorded one goal participation in each of his last three UEFA Europa League games (1 goal, 2 assists) and has been involved in five goals in his last nine European appearances (3 goals, 2 assists), after 3 in 24 before that.
• Peter Oladeji Olayinka is one of two players to have scored three header goals in European competition this season, alongside his Slavia Prague teammate Abdallah Dipo Sima.

Man of the Match – Abdallah Sima

The forward helped knock out Leicester City in the previous round by scoring his team’s second goal at King Power that night and while he was not on target at Ibrox, he still ran the show.

According to some reports, Slavia has turned down large sums from some of the biggest clubs in Europe for the Senegalese and, judging by their impressive display in Glasgow, you can understand why.

The 19-year-old forward was a constant threat to the Rangers’ defense throughout the night and was unlucky enough not to win a first-half stoppage time penalty from the visitors after one of his usual dribbles. In solitary.

Not that arriving full time really mattered and whoever draws the Czechs in the round of 16 will have to keep a close eye on this exciting youngster.

Whats Next?

The Rangers face Old Firm Celtic rivals at Parkhead Sunday at noon in a game you can watch live Soccer Sky Sports.

Sunday March 21 11:00 am

Start 12:00 pm