Leipzig won the first leg, as predicted, but what a struggle against Rangers. Domenico Tedesco had to suffer until the 85th minute before he could raise his hands to the sky and breathe a long sigh of relief. After a white-knuckle assault that lasted more than eighty minutes, it was Angelino who unblocked the match against the stout Scots, a precious goal that allows the Roten Bullen to have two results out of three at their disposal in the return match scheduled in a fiery Ibrox and in which it will not be easy to preserve the advantage.
Those who predicted an easy game for Leipzig seven days ago were very wrong. They had not reckoned with the pride of the reigning Scottish champions.
Certainly inferior from a technical and qualitative point of view, but already able to surprise in this edition of the Europa League by knocking out one of the main favourites like Borussia Dortmund and even pushing themselves to the semi-finals as perfect outsiders. The dense defence set up by coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst almost always prevented Leipzig from finding the right spaces and thus exploiting the passing lines, a strategy that worked for almost the entire duration of the match. Of course, returning to Scotland with a 0-0 in their pocket would have been an even more extraordinary feat, but Rangers will do all they can to try and overturn last Thursday’s result at the Red Bull Arena, also counting on an environment that in the knockout phase has often proved a factor. Rangers and Leipzig now have their sights set on the cup, and it was clear from their recent performances in their respective leagues.
In the Premiership, Tavernier and his team-mates ‘settled’ for a 1-1 draw in the Old Firm with Celtic, a draw that leaves the distances in the standings unchanged: the green-and-whites are first with six points ahead of their rivals, who are now resigned to returning the sceptre they won last year.
Leipzig, on the other hand, suffered their third defeat – the second in a row in the Bundesliga – under German management, falling by surprise (3-1) at the home of Borussia Monchengladbach and being overtaken in fourth place by Freiburg: the risk of losing fourth place and qualification for the next Champions League in the photo finish is still quite real.
©️Ansafoto
The Prediction
The 1-0 first leg won’t allow Leipzig to rest on their laurels. After all, it is never a walk in the park to get a result at Ibrox, a stadium that can be as hostile as few in Europe. Which is why there is a good chance that Rangers will avoid defeat, despite having little chance of qualification. We expect a much livelier match than seven days ago: the Scots will necessarily have to adopt a more proactive attitude, risking to lend the flank to the lethal restarts of the talented Leipzig attackers. At least three goals in total on the night in Glasgow.
Rangers-Leipzig’s likely line-up
RANGERS (4-3-2-1): McGregor; Tavernier, Goldson, Bassey, Barišic; Kamara, Lundstram, Jack; Aribo, Kent; Roofe.
LIPSIA (3-4-1-2): Gulácsi; Simakan, Orbán, Gvardiol; Henrichs, Kampl, Laimer, Angeliño; Dani Olmo; Nkunku, André Silva.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-2
