Kemar Roofe’s late goal earned Rangers a memorable 3-2 win against Real Betis and a place in the Europa League knockout stages.
Roofe turned the ball home from close range as Rangers put the pressure on from a 78th-minute corner to clinch top spot in Group C. They inflicted a first home defeat of the season on the Spaniards in Seville as Roofe’s second goal of the season moved them above Sparta Prague from third place and sent Betis into the Conference League.
Abdallah Sima and Cyriel Dessers had each put Rangers ahead in a thrilling first half but Betis were level before the break and had chances to go ahead only to slip from top spot to third.
Sparta won 3-1 against Aris Limassol to put pressure on Rangers and ultimately go through themselves as the Ibrox side did it the hard way, finishing on 11 points despite dropping five against the Cypriots.
Sima had already seen a half-chance diverted wide before opening the scoring in the 10th minute. James Tavernier and then Ross McCausland drove down the right and Dessers helped the ball on for Sima to fire into the bottom corner from 16 yards.
The lead only lasted four minutes. Juan Miranda had put a dangerous ball across the face of goal moments earlier but McCausland did not heed the warning and failed to track the left-back’s forward run. Miranda burst on to a deft flick from Borja Iglesias and drilled the ball inside the far post.
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Aberdeen end Conference League campaign on a high
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Aberdeen wrapped up their Europa Conference League campaign with a first group win, beating Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 at Pittodrie thanks to goals from Duk and Ester Sokler.
Having beaten Bayern Munich 5-1 last Saturday, Frankfurt could not find a way through against the Scottish Premiership side.
It was Aberdeen’s first European group-stage win since 2007, though it wasn’t enough for them to stay in the competition at their second-placed opponents’ expense.
With PAOK topping Group G, Frankfurt now face a knockout playoff against one of the third-placed Europa League teams.
“It’s the emotion that takes it out of you, these games,” said Barry Robson, the Aberdeen manager. “I am really proud of the players for performing the way they’ve performed … the boys will remember that game.”
Rangers survived a torrent of pressure as Betis looked to build on their equaliser. Ben Davies produced a vital block, Andrés Guardado hit the underside of the crossbar and Jack Butland tipped over Héctor Bellerín’s strike.
Rangers withstood the pressure and regained the lead in the 20th minute, seconds after taking a throw-in inside their own half. Dessers headed inside for José Cifuentes and ran on to the return ball down the left wing. The Nigeria international went a long way to winning over the Gers fans following a slow start to his Ibrox career when he beat his man and slipped the ball through the goalkeeper’s legs.
This time the lead lasted 17 minutes. Rangers were on the back foot after an attacking move broke down but they had plenty of men back, however Tavernier was slow to spot the danger as Ayoze Pérez loitered with intent outside the right-back. The former Newcastle and Leicester striker curled an inch-perfect first-time shot just inside the far post after being set up by Isco.
Sima and Dessers threatened before the break but Rangers – with Dujon Sterling on for Cifuentes – faced pressure at the start of the second period as Betis twice threatened from set-pieces. Assane Diao headed against the crossbar and Marc Roca miscontrolled the ball inside the six-yard box, allowing Butland to block.
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Sam Lammers briefly looked like going clear on goal after dribbling past two players but he seemed to go down easily after being tripped just outside the box and Borna Barisic’s free-kick was blocked.
Rangers had another nervy moment waiting on the VAR verdict when Pérez had a goal disallowed for handball after bundling home a rebound. It was Rangers who struck from similar range moments later through Roofe.
They generally managed the latter stages well until late in stoppage time when substitute Rabbi Matondo in particular showed naivety in shooting from long range, however Butland scrambled to stop Willian José’s header creeping in.
The final whistle soon sounded to continue Rangers’ promising run under recently appointed manager Philippe Clement, who could now get his hands on his first piece of silverware in Scotland after Sunday’s Viaplay Cup final against Aberdeen.
