An all-German UEFA Europa League final is on the cards as Leipzig take a 1-0 lead to Rangers and Eintracht Frankfurt defend a 2-1 lead at home to West Ham.
Presented by Enterprise Rent-A-Car, we pore over the talking points.
Leipzig’s formidable away form
Leipzig struggled to break down a resolute Rangers side in the first leg, relying on a moment of excellence from wing-back Angeliño late on. But away from home, with more space to attack, they are a different proposition. In their two previous knockout ties they drew at home before getting into their groove on their travels. The opposition was none too shabby either: seeing off Real Sociedad 3-1 and Atalanta 2-0. Rangers will have to commit more bodies forward in Glasgow and, in the likes of Christopher Nkunku, Dominik Szoboszlai and Dani Olmo, Leipzig have the guile to isolate defenders and capitalize.
Injury-hit Rangers seek attacking solutions
Rangers defended impressively in Germany but, shorn of injured pair Alfredo Morelos and Kemar Roofe, their attack was disjointed. For Rangers fans there’s a simple solution: pray Roofe will be fit. For manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst, it is more nuanced. “We need to attack at the right moments with more bodies,” said the Dutchman. “But a 1-0 defeat, we can overcome that.” And they have. Spurred on by the Ibrox roar, Rangers overturned an identical scoreline against Braga in the quarter-finals, helped in no small part by an early goal. How they would love another of those.
Frankfurt riding crest of a wave
“[The] match in Germany has the potential to be one of the great night’s in West Ham’s history,” wrote The Telegraph following Frankfurt’s 2-1 first-leg win. “To be frank, it will have to be.” The English side weren’t bad on Thursday; it’s just that the visitors were better. Confidence is sky high after beating Barcelona in the last eight and they looked dangerous every time they went forward, their slick passing and movement epitomized by the move for the second goal. Another performance like that and Frankfurt will be very difficult to beat.
West Ham not done yet
And yet… as good as Frankfurt were in the first leg, West Ham created plenty of chances. Kevin Trapp pulled off a wonderful stop to divert Jarrod Bowen’s first-half effort onto the post, and was grateful to see a wonderful late bicycle kick from the same player cannon back off the bar. Declan Rice’s set-piece delivery and passes through midfield caused issues, and the visitors struggled to stymie Michail Antonio’s hold-up play. The Hammers don’t lack confidence either, and admitted that while they weren’t at their best, they would be in Germany. “We’re in it to win it,” says Antonio.
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