It wasn’t the stuff of dreams for Premier League sides, but Thursday’s European action between the Europa and Conference Leagues did deliver the goods for a club that plays just north of England.
Glasgow Rangers sprung a surprising and fairly convincing 3-1 second-leg win over Bundesliga mainstays RB Leipzig and will tangle with another German side, Eintracht Frankfurt, in the Europa League Final after West Ham suffered a 10-man loss and could not make a comeback from a first-leg deficit.
[ MORE: Liverpool’s obstacles to a quadruple ]
Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho is 90 minutes from adding a new trophy to his mantle as AS Roma got the lone goal of a second leg against Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City and will advance to the Europa Conference League Final to meet Feyenoord following a 0-0 draw with Marseille in the other semifinal.
The Europa League Final will be held May 18 in Seville, Spain, while the Conference League decider is headed for Tirana in Albania.
UEFA Europa League roundup
AS Roma 1-0 (2-1 agg.) Leicester City
Former Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham did it to another English club on Thursday when his first-half header snapped a tie with Leicester to propel Jose Mourinho’s men past Brendan Rodgers’ side.
Mourinho did not make a substitution until the 78th minute as Roma, to no one’s surprise, were happy to cede possession.
But Roma goalkeeper Rui Patricio was only asked to make two saves by Leicester, the same number registered by his counterpart Kasper Schmeichel.
IT HAD TO BE TAMMY. 💥
His 9th goal of Roma's #UECL campaign. 🐺 pic.twitter.com/f6wKcHHeLL
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 5, 2022
Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 (3-1 agg.) West Ham United
A 19th-minute last-man foul on Aaron Cresswell sent West Ham down to 10 men, making the proposition of a thrilling comeback all the more of a challenge for David Moyes’ Irons.
That got even trickier in the 26th minute, when Rafael Borre made the tie 3-1 on aggregate.
West Ham was only able to force Kevin Trapp into two saves, and Eintracht held 64 percent possession on the evening to seal a place in the final against Roma.
Rafael Borré is on hand for the finish. 🔥
Frankfurt take the lead over 10-men West Ham. 👀 pic.twitter.com/7U0xnMktcU
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 5, 2022
UEFA Conference League roundup
Marseille 0-0 (2-3 agg.) Feyenoord
Despite names like Dimitri Payet, Cengiz Under, Amine Harit, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Matteo Guendouzi, Arkadiusz Milik, and Reiss Nelson between the two sides, all the goals came in the first leg and that was just fine by Feyenoord.
The Dutch visitors made a 3-2 first-leg lead hold up over 90 minutes, sealing a place opposite Glasgow Rangers in a final pairing that defies many neutrals’ expectations.
Rangers 3-1 (3-2 agg.) RB Leipzig
The result of the day? Probably, as Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men made a 1-0 deficit a thing of the past within 24 minutes of kickoff when James Tavernier and Glen Kamara scored quickfire goals.
Leipzig set the game up for extra time, seemingly, when star forward Christopher Nkunku bagged a 70th-minute goal, but former Sheffield United midfielder John Lundstram answered within 10 minutes to restore the Scottish side’s advantage.
Glen Kamara, that was naughty. 👀
He dedicates his goal to Jimmy Bell. 💙 pic.twitter.com/QBq9hXDShe
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 5, 2022
