Rangers faced heartbreak on Wednesday evening, as Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side lost on penalties to Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Ibrox club had taken the lead thanks to Joe Aribo, only for the Bundesliga side to equalise. Rangers were the better performers during extra-time and will feel unfortunate they were unable to find a way past Kevin Trapp.
Kemar Roofe’s introduction provided some energy, as others, including the excellent Calvin Bassey, struggled on through tiredness and pain.
When penalties arrived the balance was thought to be pretty even, with Eintracht’s Trapp and Rangers’ Allan McGregor both rated reasonably well.
In the end it was Aaron Ramsey who failed to find the back of the net, with his weak shot saved relatively easily. For the Welshman it was the continuation of what has been a disappointing loan period with Rangers.
Kicker quote him as saying: “If you have such a situation and you survive it, then you have the feeling that it is your turn today. And that’s how I felt when he blew the whistle. We as players thought it had to be like this, that we win today. Three years ago we lost on penalties against Chelsea, now we’ve put so much work into it that it had to be rewarded in the end. Maybe there’s something like karma that got us the title today.
“I had (info on) the shooters, but it wasn’t that lucky with the first two. Then I relied on feeling for the third. That helped better. Of course you prepare for it, but the players know that too.
“I knew from the preparation that Ramsey will wait a long time before he decides where to shoot. Praise to our goalkeeping coach!”
