Athletic Club Overcomes Rangers to Secure Spot in Europa League Semi-Finals

Athletic Club made their way into the UEFA Europa League semi-finals with a determined 2-0 win over Rangers, further solidifying their status as the only team to have a 100% win record at home in the competition after six matches.

The Basque side was eager to reach their first European semi-final in 13 years and began the match positively, with Oihan Sancet creating early opportunities.

The first major incident occurred when Dani Vivian was penalised for a foul on Cyriel Dessers inside the box; despite the Nigerian forward’s shirt being pulled, a penalty was not awarded.

Barry Ferguson’s squad absorbed considerable pressure in the first half, as Maroan Sannadi missed a chance that followed an impressive interplay between Alex Berenguer and Oscar de Marcos.

Berenguer himself had a go after being set up by Sancet, but his curling shot narrowly missed the far post.

Sancet had a golden opportunity to open the scoring in first-half stoppage time, but he missed from close range. Nonetheless, referee Irfan Peljto pointed to the penalty spot after Harry Souttar fouled Sannadi in the area.

Sancet calmly converted the penalty from 12 yards, deceiving goalkeeper Liam Kelly just seconds before half-time.

The situation worsened for Rangers right at the start of the second half as Leon Balogun had to be substituted due to injury, adding to their woes after losing Rıdvan Yilmaz before the interval.

Ferguson’s side reacted well to this setback and came agonisingly close to equalising when Nicolas Raskin’s shot hit the post.

During their strongest period of the match, De Marcos had to remain vigilant to clear Vaclav Cerny’s dangerous cross aimed at Dessers.

Athletic put an end to Rangers’ hopes of a comeback when Nico Williams scored with a powerful header from an excellent cross by De Marcos in the 80th minute.

Ernesto Valverde’s team managed to see out the final moments of the match comfortably, securing their place in the Europa League semi-finals, where they will face either Manchester United or Olympique Lyonnais.

In contrast, Rangers’ European campaign came to a disappointing close, as they have now lost their last five two-legged contests against Spanish teams.