View: Three things learnt in Rangers massive Europa League win v Braga
Rangers booked their place in the Europa League semi-final last night [April 14] at Ibrox with a huge 3-1 victory against Braga.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side made harder work of it than they would have liked as the ten-man Portuguese outfit took them to extra time before they ended the game with nine players left on the pitch.
A brace for Gers captain James Tavernier and Kemar Roofe’s winner means they will face Bundesliga side RB Leipzig in the next round.
Here are three things we at Ibrox News learnt from the game…
No Morelos, no problem
Not many gave the Light Blues a chance in this game after such a lacklustre performance in Portugal in conjunction with their key man Alfredo Morelos out injured for the rest of the season.
Rangers really struggle in his absence and look like half the team without the Columbian but that certainly wasn’t the case last night. Roofe did a great job up top and his winner along with the weekend’s hattrick should give him massive confidence going into this weekend’s Old Firm clash.
Ibrox is the key
Rangers looked like two completely different sides in both legs of the quarter-final tie. They looked spent in Portugal with Braga having the backing of their own fans.
The atmosphere in the Braga Municipal Stadium was brilliant but Ibrox showed them how it should be done. The Bears’ home support has been crucial to their success in Europe this season.
The breathtaking atmosphere has seen away teams wilt under the pressure whilst giving the home players a major boost with last night yet another example.
Got to manage games better
Van Bronckhorst would have been absolutely fuming as the Gers allowed a ten-man Braga team back into the game. Even when Roofe scored to give them the lead in extra time they surrendered several chances which could have seen the game go to penalties.
If the Light Blues have any hopes of winning the Europa League they have to manage their games much, much better.
In other Rangers news, Ally McCoist and Kenny Miller hold back no praise for Aaron Ramsey.