Eintracht completed their impressive Europa League campaign by beating Rangers in a tense penalty shoot-out.
Eintracht Frankfurt defeated Ranger in the Europa League final to win the trophy for the first time since 1980. A tense game was followed by a penalty heartbreak for the Scottish giants.
The Eagles are Europa League Champions! 🏆
Eintracht Frankfurt started the game by dominating the possession early on, creating several chances in the first 20 minutes.
The Eagles were not able to convert their chances while Rangers looked increasingly dangerous toward the end of the first period.
The Scottish side managed to break the deadlock only 12 minutes after the interval.
Following a poor clearance from Tuta, Joe Aribo latched on to the ball inside Frankfurt’s box before making it 1-0 for the Scots with a precise low ball.
Frankfurt immediately started their efforts to get back into the game, increasing the pressure on Rangers’ backline from both flanks.
Following a few half-chances, the Bundesliga heavyweights snatched the equalizer through Rafael Borre in the 69th minute.
A perfectly composed low cross from Filip Kostic found Borre, who smashed the ball into the back of the net from close range. Eintracht pushed for the match-winner in the final ten minutes but had no luck in scoring their second goal of the night.
During the extra time, Rangers had the better share of the opportunities. However, fantastic saves from Kevin Trapp prevented them from finishing the job in the dying stages of the game.
Rangers fans cheered when they found out the finalists would take the penalties on their side of the stadium. However, Aaron Ramsey’s missing of the third Rangers penalty silenced them completely.
The Scottish giants hoped for a penalty miss from Frankfurt, but the Eagles converted all their penalties to claim the title.
Borre, who had scored the equalizing goal for Eintracht, scored the decisive penalty with a fantastic shot into the top-left corner of the goal.
Player Ratings
Eintracht Frankfurt: Trapp (8), N’Dicka (7), Sow (6), Kostic (8). Kamada (7), Rode (7), Toure (7), Borre (6), Lindstrom (6), Tuta (5), Knauff (6).
Bench: Hasebe (7), Lenz (7), Jakic (6), Hrustic (7), Hauge (6).
Rangers: McGregor (6), Tavernier (7), Goldson (7), Bassey (7). Barisic (6), Lundstram (7), Jack (6), Kent (7), Aribo (7), Kamara (6), Wright (6).
Bench: Sands (6), Davis (7), Sakala (5), Ramsey (-), Arfield (6), Roofe (-).