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Commentary
Minute
Description
90' +3
FULL-TIME: RANGERS 1-3 BAYER LEVERKUSEN.
90' +1
Some space opens up for Hagi on the edge of the box and he decides to go for goal himself. He drills his shot towards the target, but it's straight at Hradecky who holds onto it.
90'
Rangers are still closing down Leverkusen high up the field in an attempt to try and nick it back from them and get another goal to get back into this tie again.
88'
L. Bailey has scored a goal for Bayer Leverkusen! Assist by M. Diaby.
BAILEY SCORES! Polster gets close to him, but a quick turn from Bailey gets him into more space. He curls his shot around the defender from the left of the box and McGregor can't stop it from hitting the back of the net. 3-1 Leverkusen!
Diaby gets his head up when he reaches the edge of the box and spots Bailey to his right before squaring the ball to the substitute.
87'
It's a great throughball from Hagi as he tries to pick out Morelos' run down the right. Hradecky is quickly out of his box to close him down and clears the ball before the forward can reach it.
85'
M. Polster enters the game and replaces J. Tavernier.
M. Diaby gets yellow.
Rangers make their final change now and it's Polster coming on to replace Tavernier.
Diaby is booked after he falls as he tries to win the ball back and he pulls back Hagi in an attempt to stay with him.
83'
Rangers have a free-kick on the right but Tavernier's cross is cleared. Goldson picks it up on the left and swings a great cross back into the middle which Morelos nods down. It looks like it's going out but Hagi does well to win a corner.
81'
J. Baumgartlinger enters the game and replaces K. Demirbay.
M. Weiser gets yellow.
It's a poor tackle from Weiser who catches Hagi really late. He's booked and will also miss the second leg next Thursday.
Final roll of the dice for Leverkusen now and Baumgartlinger is coming on for Demirbay.
79'
R. Kent gets yellow.
The yellow card is out again and this time, it's shown to Kent who catches Bailey on the left wing.
77'
Wendell gets yellow.
Kent turns away from Wendell and he tugs at his shirt in an attempt to stop him from getting into the box. He's shown a yellow card and Rangers have a free-kick in a dangerous position.
Minute
Description
75'
G. Edmundson has scored a goal for Rangers! Assist by J. Tavernier.
It's a good cross into the box from Tavernier and he picks out Edmundson's run perfectly.
RANGERS PULL ONE BACK! It's poor defending by Leverkusen on the corner, but that gives Edmundson the chance to make up for giving away the penalty in the first half. He has a free header in the middle of the box and he picks out the bottom-left corner with his header. 2-1!
73'
Demirbay steps up to take the free-kick and he gets his effort up and over the wall. It's a tame shot from him though and it's a comfortable save for McGregor in the middle of his goal.
72'
S. Arfield gets yellow.
Havertz got away from Edmundson and Arfield tried to get across on the cover but ended up sliding in and catching the forward. He's shown a yellow card.
70'
Rangers' frustration is starting to show now as a few unnecessary tackles are going in. Dragovic was brought down first by Morelos before Weiser was fouled on the other wing by Kamberi.
68'
Paulinho enters the game and replaces E. Tapsoba.
I. Hagi enters the game and replaces G. Kamara.
Gerrard makes a change following that goal as well as he brings on Hagi for Kamara.
Second change for Leverkusen now and Paulinho is coming on in place of Tapsoba.
67'
C. Aránguiz has scored a goal for Bayer Leverkusen!
LEVERKUSEN HAVE A SECOND! It's Weiser that swings the cross into the box and Tavernier is at the far post to head it clear. He gets it as far as Aranguiz and he lets it bounce before hitting his shot low into the bottom-right corner of the net. 2-0 Leverkusen!
65'
It's clever play by Leverkusen as Aranguiz and Diaby open up Rangers with some one-touch passes. Havertz looks like he's in on goal, but a heavy touch from him takes it out of his reach.
62'
L. Bailey enters the game and replaces K. Bellarabi.
First change for Leverkusen now and it's Belarabi who's making way for Bailey.
61'
Tavernier whips a good cross into the middle of the box to pick out Arfield who throws himself towards the ball. He does get there ahead of Tah, but he can't flick his header on target which gives Tapsoba the chance to clear it.
59'
Leverkusen are starting to find their rhythm again now after being on the back foot for the last few minutes. It's patient play from the away side but Aranguiz can't get the better of Barisic down the right.
57'
There are loud shouts from the home fans once again as they feel Rangers should have a penalty for a push on Morelos by Tah. There's not much in it though and the referee gives them a corner as it went out off the defender.
53'
F. Kamberi enters the game and replaces J. Aribo.
Gerrard makes his first change of the game now as he brings on Kamberi to replace Aribo.
52'
Weiser plays a one-two with Bellarabi to get away from Barisic who trips when he tries to cut out the run. Weiser swings a cross into the middle of the box but Edmundson is at the near post to clear it.
50'
Hradecky plays his goal-kick to Tapsoba and he doesn't look as he gives it back to the keeper. He'd moved back across his goal, but Hradecky does manage to get there before it can cross his goal line.
48'
Rangers have made a bright start to the second half and they're closing Leverkusen down much higher up the field. Morelos is chasing down a backpass to Hradecky but the goalkeeper gets there first.
46'
Rangers get us back underway for the second half!
45' +2
HALF-TIME: RANGERS 0-1 BAYER LEVERKUSEN.
45'
The fans are making their frustration known as Rangers are on the backfoot again. Diaby runs at Tavernier down the left and the defender does just about enough to stop him putting a cross into the box.
43'
Leverkusen are still patiently trying to play out from the back but they're struggling to find a way past Rangers once again. Bellarabi has dropped deep to try and get on the ball, but he puts it out of play with a sloppy pass to Wendell.
41'
Bit of a nervy moment for Hradecky as a heavy touch from him takes the ball away from him. Morelos is closing him down quickly and the goalkeeper just manages to get there ahead of him to poke it away.
39'
There are loud shouts from the Rangers players and fans now for a penalty in the other box. Tavernier whipped the free-kick into the box and Goldson flicks the header on when it hits Tah. It hit the defender in the back though and the referee waves the claims away.
37'
Penalty goal scored by K. Havertz for Bayer Leverkusen!
LEVERKUSEN LEAD! It's Havertz that steps up to take it and he sends McGregor the wrong way and coolly sidefoots his spot-kick down the middle of the goal. 1-0 Leverkusen!
33'
Leverkusen are just slowing the pace of the game down now as Rangers have all of their players sitting back in their own half and they're trying to find ways to break down the home side.
31'
Rangers are keeping the ball a lot better now and are stopping Leverkusen from getting out of their own half. They still haven't created any chances, but they're getting into more dangerous positions than before.
29'
K. Demirbay gets yellow.
Demirbay just catches Kamara and stops his run through the middle and just like the midfielder, that booking means he misses the second leg.
27'
Demirbay gets away from Edmundson as he slips the ball between the defender's leg to get into more space. He turns so he can put a cross into the box, but Tavernier is there to clear the danger.
25'
Rangers are just starting to put a bit more pressure on Leverkusen now. Kent runs at Aranguiz down the middle again and gets the better of the midfielder, but there's no one up with him in support.
23'
Weiser leaves a leg hanging and catches Barisic to give Rangers a free-kick on the right. The left-back whips a deep cross into the box, but it's poor from him as it goes straight out of play near the far post.
21'
Rangers are happy to just sit back and let Leverkusen play out from the back as the away side continue to dominate in possession. Demirbay gets the ball on the edge of the box and decides to go for goal, but it's straight at McGregor.
19'
G. Kamara gets yellow.
Kamara picks up the first yellow card of the game after stepping on Weiser's ankle. That booking means he misses the second leg in Germany next week.
17'
It's a quick break by Rangers as Kamara gets his head up and spots Morelos' run. Aranguiz misses it and Morelos is trying to nudge Dragovic away from it, but the defender stays with him and stops the attack.
15'
Leverkusen are still pressing high up the field and putting Rangers under a lot of pressure. Bellarabi is causing some real problems down the right, but his cross into Havertz is a poor one, which Goldson is able to clear.
13'
Aranguiz spots Bellarabi's run into the box from the right and tries to pick him out with a throughball. Edmundson gets across to him and manages to hold off the forward long enough to just see it out of play.
9'
Havertz picks out Bellarabi at the far post this time and he sets himself before taking the shot. Barisic gets across to him quickly and makes a good block to send it out for a corner.
8'
Hradecky's clearance goes straight to Goldson and Rangers have a chance to open up Leverkusen now. It's a poor pass from Arfield towards Aribo though and he can't catch up to it to stop it going out of play.
6'
Leverkusen have had a lot of the ball in the opening minutes and they're on the attack again. Wendell tries to pick out Diaby's run through the middle, but Edmundson gets ahead of him to intercept the pass.
4'
Barisic spots Kent's run ahead of him down the left and slides a throughball into him. He can't get a cross into the box though as Weiser is too close to him and he's forced to play it backwards.
2'
The first chance of the game falls to Kellarabi for Leverkusen. It's a good cross by Demirbay on the left and he picks out Kellarabi at the far post. He hits the shot on the volley, but he sends it high over the crossbar.
1'
Havertz gets the game underway for Leverkusen!
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Europa League round of 16 first leg meeting between Rangers and Bayer Leverkusen at the Ibrox Stadium!
Rangers beat Braga 4-2 on aggregate in the last round to make it to the last 16, but have won just one of their three games since then (L2), but that did come last time out when they beat Ross County 1-0. They face a tough test today though as they welcome an in-form Leverkusen to the Ibrox. The German side are unbeaten in their last nine games in all competitions (W8 D1) and beat Porto 5-2 in the round of 32 to get through.
RANGERS STARTING XI (4-3-3): Allan McGregor; James Tavernier, Connor Goldson, George Edmundson, Borna Barisic; Scott Arfield, Steven Davis, Glen Kamara; Joe Aribo, Alfredo Morelos, Ryan Kent.
RANGERS SUBS: Wes Foderingham, Andrew Halliday, Sheyi Ojo, Ianis Hagi, Matt Polster, Florian Kamberi, Nikola Katic.
BAYER LEVERKUSEN STARTING XI (3-4-2-1): Lukas Hradecky; Jonathan Tah, Aleksandar Dragovic, Edmond Tapsoba; Mitchell Weiser, Charles Aranguiz, Kerem Demirbay, Wendell; Karim Bellarabi, Moussa Diaby; Kai Havertz.
BAYER LEVERKUSEN SUBS: Paulinho, Julian Baumgartlinger, Adrian Stanilewicz, Leon Bailey, Ayman Azhil, Ramazan Ozcan, Exequiel Palacios.
The teams are out on the pitch now, with kick-off just moments away.
Bosz's side were the better side in the first half, with Bellarabi, in particular, causing the home side a lot of problems early on. They haven't created too many clear cut chances, but they have looked dangerous going forward. As for Rangers, they haven't had a shot on target yet and Gerrard will expect them to put in a much better second-half performance if they want to get back into this tie.
That's all for today, goodbye!
Rangers have a lot of work to do next week when they travel to the BayArena to face Leverkusen again, this time behind closed doors due to the coronavirus. Before that though, they have the derby against Celtic at the weekend. Leverkusen's unbeaten run extends to 10 matches and they have a game against Werder Bremen before the second leg.
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