Rangers continued their impressive Europa League campaign with a first-leg draw against Benfica after leading twice in the last-16 tie in Lisbon.
Tom Lawrence set the visitors on their way with an inch-perfect header in their first real attack after great work down the left from Mohamed Diomande found the Welshman.
Rangers managed the game well from there, but as half-time approached, they suffered a controversial concession when John Souttar turned on his own hand in the box. After VAR intervention, Angel Di Maria coolly scored the equalizer from the penalty spot.
The Rangers responded immediately and impressively. Fabio Silva played a ball in from the left, took out a defender and straight to the onrushing Dujon Sterling, who tapped in his first goal for the club.
Benfica applied considerable pressure after the interval, although Silva had a good chance saved after escaping the attention of two opposing defenders.
The home side’s persistence was finally rewarded when a free-kick drifted into a dangerous area and, inexplicably, Rangers defender Conor Goldson nodded past Jack Butland on goal with no real pressure.
This sparked a flurry of pressure and when John Lundstram was caught in possession the ball was cut back to Di Maria in a central area but he left his lines and side-footed it wide of the post to Rangers’ relief. .
Rafa Silva then charged wildly at a great opportunity and the ball went over the top. Benfica continued to press but a disciplined defense held out for a result that would have been welcome before kick-off.
More to come.
Lining up
Benfica
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Trubin
- 6BahReservation at 72 minutesSubstituted forFernandezin the 84′minutes
- 4Antonio Silva
- 30Otamendi
- 8Aursnes
- 87Gonsalves Neves
- 61Morris Luis
- 7Neres KamposSubstituted forAntounes Gouveiain the 84′minutes
- 27Fernandez Ferreira da Silva
- 11Di MariaBook in 34 minutes
- 9Mendonça CabralSubstituted forSantos Almeidain the 65′minutes
Substitutes
- 3Fernandez
- 5Rodriguez da Silva
- 10Kökçü
- 19Tengstedt
- 20Joao Mario
- 24Jab Soares
- 32Rollheiser
- 36Santos Almeida
- 44Lemos Araujo
- 47Antounes Gouveia
- 75Nogueira Gomes
- 82Spencer Marquez
Rangers
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1ButlandReserve in 45 minutes
- 2Tavernier
- 6Goldson
- 5Shooter
- 3YilmazReservation at 67 minutes
- 42DiamondSubstituted forRaskinin the 84′minutes
- 4Lundstram
- 21PureReservation at 27 minutesSubstituted forMcKinnonin the 77′minutes
- 11LaurentiusSubstituted forJackin the 77′minutes
- 7Fabio SilvaSubstituted forMcCauslandin the 90+1′minutes
- 9DessertsSubstituted forRoofin the 76′minutes
Substitutes
- 8Jack
- 25Roof
- 26Davies
- 28McCrorie
- 31Barisic
- 32Manufacturer
- 38King
- 43Raskin
- 45McCausland
- 46Lieutenant
- 47Fraser
- 93McKinnon
- Referee:
- Tobias Stieler
- Presence:
- 48,759
Live text
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End of match, Benfica 2, Rangers 2.
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End of second half, Benfica 2, Rangers 2.
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Foul by Angel Di Maria (Benfica).
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John Souttar (Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Change, Rangers. Ross McCausland replaces Fábio Silva.
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Attempt failure. Rafa (Benfica) left footed shot from the center of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Nicolas Otamendi with a header.
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Corner, Benfica. Conceded by Ridvan Yilmaz.
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João Neves (Benfica) wins a free kick on the right wing.
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Foul by Nicholas Ruskin (Rangers).
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Antonio Silva (Benfica) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Kemar Roofe (Rangers).
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Change for Benfica. Thiago Guevara replaces David Neres.
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Change for Benfica. Álvaro Fernández replaces Alexander Bah.
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Change, Rangers. Nicolas Raskin replaces Mohamed Diomande.
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Attempt failure. Nicolás Otamendi (Benfica) header from the center of the box is too high. Assisted by Angel Di Maria with a cross after a corner.
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Corner, Benfica. Courtesy of Jack Butland.
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Corner, Benfica. Courtesy of John Lundstram.
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Corner, Benfica. Courtesy of John Lundstram.
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Attempt blocked. Angel Di Maria (Benfica) right footed shot from the center of the box is blocked. With Rafa’s help.
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Change, Rangers. Ryan Jack replaces Tom Lawrence.
How to play
Rate players out of 10 during or after the game. The scorer will close 30 minutes after the final whistle.
Score range key = Give it up = Pure perfection
Benfica
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Group number1Name of playerTrubin
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Group number6Name of playerBah
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Group number4Name of playerAntonio Silva
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Group number30Name of playerOtamendi
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Group number8Name of playerAursnes
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Group number87Name of playerJoao Neves
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Group number61Name of playerFlorentino
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Group number7Name of playerDavid Neres
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Group number27Name of playerRafa
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Group number11Name of playerDi Maria
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Group number9Name of playerArthur Cabral
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Group number3Name of playerFernandez
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Group number36Name of playerMarco Leonardo
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Group number47Name of playerTiago Gouveia
Rangers
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Group number1Name of playerButland
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Group number2Name of playerTavernier
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Group number6Name of playerGoldson
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Group number5Name of playerShooter
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Group number3Name of playerYilmaz
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Group number42Name of playerDiamond
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Group number4Name of playerLundstram
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Group number21Name of playerPure
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Group number11Name of playerLaurentius
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Group number7Name of playerFabio Silva
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Group number9Name of playerDesserts
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Group number8Name of playerJack
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Group number25Name of playerRoof
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Group number43Name of playerRaskin
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Group number45Name of playerMcCausland
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Group number93Name of playerMcKinnon