Europa League: Benfica 3-3 Rangers - Late lapses 'will sting for a while', says Gerrard
- Published
Alfredo Morelos has now scored a club-record 22 European goals in 37 appearances for Rangers
Rangers have "ourselves to blame", says boss Steven Gerrard after shipping two late goals to draw with 10-man Benfica.
The visitors led 3-1 with 13 minutes to play in Lisbon but Rafa Silva and Darwin Nunez struck to level, the latter netting in stoppage time.
Rangers stay unbeaten in second place in Europa League Group D, level on points with Benfica, but Gerrard admits the draw "feels more like a defeat."
"That will certainly sting for a while," the manager added.
"But once the dust settles I'm sure it will be a valuable point.
"We've got ourselves to blame. We started the game really poor for the opening minute and deserved to be one behind. We also finished the game poorly, so we certainly have a lot to learn from the goals we conceded."
It speaks volumes about Rangers' overwhelming supremacy that so many of their players will be devastated at taking merely a point in the back yard of such a formidable opponent.
That, though, is not how things began. In the early skirmishes, Gerrard's men flailed. The Benfica opener, after barely 60 seconds, was indicative of the self blame Gerrard would later speak of and hinted at a long and painful night.
Filip Helander, who had a desperate evening, ballooned a clearance to Silva. The forward bamboozled him en route to the by-line before his cut-back cannoned in off Connor Goldson.
At this point, Benfica were swarming Rangers' half. The ball fizzed neatly between the red jerseys, and Pizzi ought to have made it 2-0 but dragged across the face from inside the box.
The game turned in a heartbeat on 19 minutes thanks to one flash of attacking incision and one act of defensive misjudgement.
Steven Davis floated a swinging pass in behind a high Benfica line for Ryan Kent, and the forward was clipped and sent sprawling by Nicolas Otamendi. It was a blatant red card and it jolted Rangers into life.
Imbued with new belief, Rangers roared forward. Davis, on the right this time, sent James Tavernier clear up the flank, and the captain's square ball was viciously - and comically - lashed into his own net by Diogo Goncalves. The ball whizzed home like a wild slice off a golf tee.
Darwin Nunez scored Benfica's equaliser in the 91st minute
There was nothing slapstick about Rangers' second, arriving less than a minute a later as they landed a wicked double-blow. Morelos galloped down the same right touchline and his drifted cross-field pass hit the feet of Glen Kamara.
The Finn chopped on to his right foot and caressed a brilliantly placed low shot beyond Odysseas Vlachomidis.
In the second half, predictably and poignantly, Alfredo Morelos had an emphatic say, becoming Rangers' top European goalscorer by scooping in Tavernier's piercing square ball. The Colombian smashed the 21-goal record set by club titan, Ally McCoist.
Soon after, Kent clipped a post after being cannily teed up by Ryan Jack, then swerved wide from a similar position, while Vlachomidis blocked Morelos from point-blank range.
Even then, there was no indication of an impending fightback, no sign of a pulse in the flat-lining home side.
Silva soon applied a defibrillator though, aided by another Helander error, when forcing past Allan McGregor.
Then, in the 91st minute, Nunez got between the visiting centre-backs and planted a shot into the Rangers net and a dagger into the visitors' hearts.
It was a punishing blow, denying Gerrard's men a third win from three in the group, top spot in the table, and an almighty away victory.
Man of the match - Steven Davis
Morelos was excellent, Tavernier supreme down the right, but Davis’ imperious midfield quality was crucial to almost everything good about Rangers; his range of passing, composure and bite were outstanding
What did we learn?
Rangers have the attacking panache and breadth of options to wound high-calibre teams, and did not capitulate after the shock of Goldson's own goal.
They bossed the hour that followed, but were undone twice defensively in the dying minutes. Even against a depleted opponent, it was a painful lesson in concentration and accuracy.
Match statistics
Benfica remain unbeaten in all 24 of their Europa League home games since the competition was rebranded in 2009, winning 19 and drawing five.
Rangers conceded three goals in a match for the first time in 20 games in all competitions (1-3 v Bayer Leverkusen in March). Indeed, they shipped more goals in Lisbon than they had in their previous nine games in all competitions combined (two).
There were just 88 seconds between Diogo Gonçalves' own goal equaliser for Rangers and Glen Kamara giving the Scottish side the lead.
This was the fourth different Europa League game in which both sides netted an own goal, with half of these now involving Rangers (v Benfica and also v Spartak Moscow in November 2018).
Connor Goldson's own goal to give Benfica the lead was the fastest own goal scored in the Europa League (60 seconds).
What they said
Rangers manager Steven Gerrard: "Once the red card happened some of the football and some of the creativity we produced and the goals we scored were absolutely fantastic.
"I thought there were periods in the game where we actually played the best we have this season. It's certainly very mixed at the moment. It feels like a defeat because at 3-1 our game management and our order on the pitch should have been better to get us over the line."
What's next?
Rangers return to Scottish Premiership action, where they hold a nine-point lead over rivals Celtic having played two games more. Gerrard's side host Hamilton Academical on Sunday.
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