Rangers 1-3 Bayer Leverkusen: Dip in form continues for Steven Gerrard

This time there would be no stunning Braga-style late triumph. No acts of improbable late Europa League heroism.

You can never be sure with this Rangers side. For all their toils and troubles in domestic football they get the sniff of blood in their nostrils in Europe and they’re a different animal.

In the last 32 they were two goals down in the first leg against Braga after 66 minutes and still found a way to preserve the unbeaten home record of Steven Gerrard in Europe. 

With 16 minutes left to play of this last 16 Europa League first leg, Ibrox sensed lightning might strike twice.

They were two goals down again, a first half penalty awarded on the say-so of VAR converted by talented 20-year-old Kai Havertz. When Chilean midfielder Charles Aranguiz doubled Leverkusen’s lead after 67 minutes all looked lost until George Edmondson headed Rangers back into the game from a corner..

It proved a false dawn in the end, a sublime strike two minutes from time by Jamaican substitute Leon Bailey all but ending hopes of progression to the last eight. Assuming coronavirus doesn’t do so first in the midst of a fluid situation.

Give Rangers their due. They handed out the red, white and blue flags for the fans to wave, switched on the floodlights, turned up the tunes and asked people to make all the noise they could muster. Doing their bit for public health by failing to lay a glove on their opponents in the first half a spirited second half performance couldn’t shift the air of futility from the whole business.

Next Thursday night the second leg in Germany will be played to the surreal backdrop of empty BayArena in Leverkusen, assuming it’s played at all. In a fast-moving scenario UEFA can do their worst now. By hook or by crook the Rangers European adventure looks to be coming to a close now.

While Europe’s governing body delay the inevitable politicians and governing bodies across Europe have taken firm decisive action. Games have been postponed. Leagues have been mothballed. The same can’t be said of England or Scotland, where indecision is final. 

So it was, then, that 47,494 supporters rolled up in the midst of a public health pendemic to watch to watch a last 16 tie in a competition facing the likelihood of suspension next week.

Should the Europa League stagger on in empty stadia there’s no guarantee Rangers will now carry on with it after a humbling first leg loss to the team sitting fourth in the German Bundesliga. The team assembled by Peter Bosz were a clear step up from any side they’d faced so far. Even when the Edmondson header gave Rangers a slither of hope it was brutally snuffed out.

In two games against FC Copenhagen in the last 32 bitter Glasgow rivals Celtic experienced the slings and arrow of Video Assistant Referees. For Rangers the Leverkusen breakthrough from the penalty spot was a first.

The red shirted Germans dominated the opening stages of the game. A dangerous incursion down the left flank resulted in a back post strike from Karim Bellarabi being blocked by Borna Barisic. Karem Demirbay shot straight down the throat of Allan McGregor.

Rangers finally seemed to be winning some possession and territory when Big Brother intervened.

With 34 minutes played A Charles Aranguiz cross struck the outstretched left hand of defender George Edmundsen. The Polish referee made the long run to the sideline to check the video monitor; after an interminable wait Szymon Marciniak pointed to the spot. It was the right decision. 

A rising 20-year-old star of German football, Kai Havertz ignored the boos and the jeers of the Rangers support to send Allan McGregor diving to his left as he sent the ball low down the middle into the net.

For Rangers to make an impact they had to find a way to unsettle opponents who played on the rutted pitch as if wearing slippers. The introduction of Florian Kamberi for Joe Aribo after 53 minutes almost made a quick difference.

All but invisible in the first half Alfredo Morelos finally burst into the game. A probing Ryan Kent cross towards the back post dropped just beyond the Colombian. Within a minute Morelos forced a fine save from Leverkusen keeper Lukas Hradecky – his first of the game – when James Tavernier burst into space and picked out the striker’s angled run.

Sensing a new energy and purpose in their team the home supporters responded. For the first time in the game they were asking questions, forcing Leverkusen into errors It took a timely Jonathan Tah sliding tackle to deny Morelos a tap-in when Kamberi dispossessed defender Edmond Tapsoba in his own area and rolled the ball across the face of goal.

All of which made the disappointment feel worse when the roof collapsed in the 66th minute. 

There was an escape in 65 minutes when, from a Leverkusen corner kick, Steven Davis managed to head a hooked netbound shot from Charles Aranguiz off the line. The line didn’t hold long. From the resultant corner sustained Leverkusen pressure saw James Tavernier hook Tah’s probing cross as far as the lurking Aranguiz. There was no mistake this time the Chilean international midfielder thumping a brilliantly controlled strike low into the net from 18 yards.

In the home leg against Braga Rangers were two goals down and seemingly down and out when they launched a stunning fightback in the 67th minute. This time they left it a little later.

Ibrox had fallen into a pensive silence when an unmarked George Edmundsen headed a James Tavernier corner in off the inside of the upright for 2-1. Suddenly the home supporters were back in the game. So, for that matter, were Rangers. 

It proved a short-lived slither of hope. With eleven minutes to play Aranguiz curled a sublime free kick against the face of the crossbar with Allan McGregor beaten. Rangers breathed again, albeit briefly.

The killer blow came with two minutes to play, substitute Leon Bailey curling a superb finish high into the postage stamp corner after a fine darting one-two and pass with Moussa Diaby. Running to celebrate with the Union Bears was never the smartest idea, an object looking suspiciously like a bottle thrown in his direction. UEFA have other matters on their mind now, but seem unlikely to let the incident pass. For Rangers it was a disappointing end to the night.