Rangers were left heartbroken on Wednesday night as the Ibrox giants lost on penalties in the final of the Europa League.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side gave their all in Seville as they took it all the way to spot-kicks after a 1-1 draw in 120 minutes.
The Glasgow outfit took the lead in the second half as Joe Aribo capitalised on a mistake at the back and raced through to slot the ball past Kevin Trapp with a composed finish.
Their lead did not last for long, though, as Rafael Borre pounced on a cross after Connor Goldson failed to cut it out at the front post.
Both sides had chances to win it in extra time and the best chance fell to Ryan Kent as he saw a close-range effort saved by Trapp from point-blank range.
It then came down to penalties and Aaron Ramsey’s poor spot-kick was comfortably saved by the Frankfurt stopper, with every other penalty in the shootout being expertly dispatched – sealing the win for the German outfit.
Whilst Aribo scored the goal for the Gers, the real standout, in what was a superb performance in spite of the defeat, was central defender Calvin Bassey. After the match, BT Sport pundit Owen Hargreaves dubbed his performance as “astonishing” and that sums it up perfectly.
Defensively, he was absolutely outstanding. As per SofaScore, he won seven of his 11 individual duels, won two tackles and made four clearances, two blocks and three interceptions over the course of the 120 minutes on the pitch.
The defender, who had 93 touches in total, was a menace to the Frankfurt attackers as he towered above them to win the ball time and time again – winning 80% of his aerial battles as he dominated the match.
During the BT Sport commentary, Alex Rae claimed that the Nigeria international “eats up ground” when running back to track runs in behind. He showcased his recovery speed, making nine recoveries in total, as he stopped the Bundesliga side from exposing the space between the backline and Allan McGregor.
These statistics and quotes on his display illustrate his exceptional showing in the final. He was incredibly unlucky to end the night on the losing side and van Bronckhorst will now be hoping that this display does not catch any eyes heading into the summer transfer window…
AND in other news, Gvb must finally unleash “powerful” 19 y/o Rangers gem who “took his chance” in 2022…
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