UEFA Europa League: How Rangers ran ragged in Glasgow by limiting lame Leipzig – tactical analysis

An all-German European final awaited the world on Thursday night, in what would have been the first in just under a decade. The last time around, Jupp Heynckes’ treble-winning Bayern Munich broke Borussia Dortmund hearts in Wembley in the 2013 UEFA Champions League final.

The stage was set. Eintracht Frankfurt would face RB Leipzig in Seville in what was likely to be a breath-taking showcase of Bundesliga brilliance.

Oliver Glasner’s Frankfurt completed their side of the bargain, putting ten-man West Ham United to the sword with a 3-1 aggregate victory. Leipzig simply needed to not lose, only it wasn’t as simple as it looked on paper.

Rangers stepped out onto their home turf on Thursday night with fire burning through their loins. A well-oiled mountain stood between themselves and the UEFA Europa League final, but to quote Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, “mountains are there to be climbed.”

The Scottish champions were hungry. Like wolves, caged, starving for their first taste of a European final in fourteen years. Giovanni van Bronckhorst unleashed his rabid beasts, as they feasted in front of the immensely vociferous Ibrox, spurring on the hunt to no avail.

Leipzig crumbled. Rangers crowed. The Gers ended the all-German dream but are now dreaming themselves after such a splendid 3-1 victory, setting them en route to the final.

This article will be a tactical analysis of the game between Rangers and Leipzig from Thursday night. It will be an analysis of the key tactics during the game, looking at what went wrong for the visitors.

Lineups and formations

Since van Bronckhorst’s arrival, towards the tail end of the previous calendar year, Rangers have set up in either a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1. In this game, the Dutch coach opted for a 5-2-3, which dropped into a 5-4-1 during the deeper defensive phases.

The backline remained exactly the same from the team that played out a stalemate against their bitter rivals Celtic at the weekend in the Old Firm derby. However, John Lundstram shifted in as a right centre-back to complete the back five.