Aribo stars, Bassey and Balogun feature as Rangers cruise into Europa League Semifinals

Joe Aribo celebrates with James Tavernier in Rangers' quarterfinal win over Braga

Aribo stars, Bassey and Balogun feature as Rangers cruise into Europa League Semifinals

Niyi Iyanda 22:00 - 14.04.2022

Super Eagles midfielder Joe Aribo assisted two out of Rangers' three goals as the side came back from a goal down to qualify for the Semi-Final of the Europa League.

The Scottish side flew out of the blocks, and with barely two minutes played, Super Eagles playmaker Joe Aribo threaded a pass towards James Tavernier, who played a hard low shot into the corner of the goal.

James Tavernier latched onto a good pass from Joe Aribo to open the scoring

Rangers came into the home leg of their contest trailing the visiting side, and it was clear that Giovanni van Bronckhorst gave his men clear instructions. Two minutes after the first, Rangers got their second on the night. Borna Barisic played a good cross into the path of Kemar Roofe, who headed home a powerful header from close range.

Kemar Roofe saw his goal ruled out for a handball in its buildup

The celebrations stopped when VAR ruled the goal out for a handball in its buildup.

Roofe came close again in the 30th minute when he made space for himself following a corner kick, but his effort came crashing off the crossbar.

With the first half coming to an end, Rangers were handed a boost when Braga was reduced to 10 men. Brazilian defender Tormena made a reckless challenge in the box, and his poor decision led to a penalty and a straight red card.

Tormena was sent off for his reckless tackle on Kemar Roofe

Tavernier stepped up and confidently put the Scottish side in the lead for the first time in the tie.

Tavernier stepped up to double his side's lead

Roofe once again found himself on the end of a decent chance. In the 60th minute, the striker controlled a good pass into the box before unleashing a powerful shot that was saved by the Braga goalkeeper.

Ten minutes later, Roofe believed that his hard luck was finally behind him when he finally scored against Matheus in the Braga goal. He was again denied by the referee, this time for offside.

Despite being on the back foot for most of the game, Braga finally got a goal in the match. David Carmo was on the end of a whipped corner, and he halved the deficit on the night and levelled the tie on aggregate.

David Carmo levelled the tie with a powerful header in extra time

With extra time approaching, Van Bronckhorst replaced the more attack-minded Barisic with Super Eagles defender Leon Balogun.

The script didn't change much in added time Rangers looked more likely to score while 10-man Braga tried to force the game into penalties.

Aribo picked up his second assist of the game when he squared the ball to Kemar Roofe, who tapped the ball in from close range.

Roofe's hard work paid off when he finally won the game for Rangers

Braga's troubles worsened when Iuri Medeiros received two yellow cards quickly, reducing the team to nine men. Rangers saw out the match comfortably and recorded a 3-2 win on aggregate.

Giovanni Van Bronckhorst's men will face RedBull Leipzig on April 28 in the semi finals of the UEFA Europa League.

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