April 08, (THEWILL) – Rangers were defeated by Braga in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday, and they will be disappointed in themselves for the result.
The visitors took the initiative early on and looked the brighter of the two sides but faded as the game progressed, allowing Braga to take control of the game midway through the half.
Ricardo Horta hit the crossbar after 24 minutes and was celebrating two minutes later after putting the ball in the back of the net, but Rangers had VAR to thank for the goal being ruled out due to a foul on Ryan Jack earlier in the move.
Five minutes before the break, though, there would be no denying them. Abel Ruiz made no mistake with his finish to put Braga 1-0 ahead after Nigerian defender Leon Balogun failed to cut off a clever feed from Manchester City loanee Yan Couto.
Couto and Horta were brilliant in the first half, and they threatened to maintain their brilliance after the interval with some clever movements, but Rangers withstood the storm and quickly grabbed control of the game again.
Rangers struggled to move the ball up to lone striker Kemar Roofe, who will be standing in for top scorer Alfredo Morelos for the foreseeable future after the Colombian had thigh surgery, and the Scottish champions looked disjointed even when in possession.
With 20 minutes remaining, Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s charges came near when Connor Goldson was given a golden chance from a corner, but the centre-back was unable to keep his free header on target.
The final moments were virtually entirely played in Braga’s third, with Rangers pressing their opponents back in the difficult quest of an equaliser that never materialised.
By the final whistle, it was a forgettable game for Rangers to lose, but Van Bronckhorst will have seen enough from his side to feel optimistic of overcoming the deficit when the two clubs meet again next week at Ibrox.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
