Summary

  • Barisic nets late penalty to earn Rangers win after Seck shown second yellow for handball

  • Kent wriggles into box and lashes in second equaliser

  • Hongla had restored Antwerp lead after Barisic penalty leveller

  • Avenatti header & Refaelov penalty cancelled out Aribo opener

  • Tavernier & Roofe both forced off with injuries

  • Sides meet again at Ibrox next Thursday

Live Reporting

Thomas Duncan

  1. Tavernier makes way

    Antwerp 0-0 Rangers

    James Tavernier came back on, but is down again and Leon Balogun replaces him.

    How bad is it, is the question...

  2. Captain in trouble

    Antwerp 0-0 Rangers

    Concern here for Rangers. Captain James Tavernier is down receiving treatment, potentially from an earlier challenge.

    He's an ever-present and a huge player for Rangers. He's limped off, but will he be coming back on?

  3. Antwerp 0-0 Rangers

    Bit of a scramble there for Rangers, as Ulineia Buta gets down the right, and Borna Barisic slips allowing the Antwerp wing-back to get into the box.

    He has two red shirts in place, but can't pull the ball back to either. Moments later, and Buta's miss-hit cross almost sneaks into the top corner. There are goals in this one.

  4. 'Antwerp struggling'

    Antwerp 0-0 Rangers

    Neil McCann
    Former Hearts & Rangers winger on BBC Sportsound

    I think Antwerp are really struggling to find the spare man here. They like to play the ball out from the back but Rangers aren't letting them do so.

  5. Antwerp 0-0 Rangers

    James Tavernier pinches the ball on the edge of the Antwerp box, but his shot is too high.

    Steven Gerrard will be encouraged by his team's showing so far.

  6. 'Rangers have started well here'

    Antwerp 0-0 Rangers

    Peter Lovenkrands
    Former Rangers striker

    Rangers have started well here, moving the ball and finding where the space is. Out wide too, they’re playing well, they look more compact and more solid already than Antwerp.

  7. Antwerp 0-0 Rangers

    Scott Arfield floats a shot over from about 25 yards. This is an intriguing contest so far.

    Antwerp playing out from the back, while Rangers press high. The home side have a couple of chances, first a cross towards Felipe Avenatti is snuffed out by Allan McGregor.

    Then a long-range effort goes past the post from Ritchie De Laet.

  8. 'Surprised there was no penalty'

    Antwerp 0-0 Rangers

    Neil McCann
    Former Hearts & Rangers winger on BBC Sportsound

    That was a good chance for Goldson but I'm surprised it wasn't a penalty though, it looked like it was handball

  9. Goldson opportunity

    Antwerp 0-0 Rangers

    That's a decent chance for Connor Goldson there. James Tavernier picks him out and he wins a header, but then swings his shot well over.

    There was a VAR check for handball, but nothing given. Forgot we had that tonight. The joys of VAR-less Scottish football!

  10. Antwerp 0-0 Rangers

    It's Antwerp who have had the better of the opening two minutes, with Allan McGregor having to field an early cross.

    Nothing major, though.

  11. KICK-OFF

    Antwerp 0-0 Rangers

    Here we go!

    A reminder of the teams...

    Antwerp: Beiranvand, Seck, Le Marchand, De Laet, Buta, Boya, Hongla, Lukaku, Refaelov, Gerkens, Avenatti.

    Substitutes: De Wolf, Verstraete, Miyoshi, Nsimba, Opoku Ampomah, Gelin, Chevaughn, Pavlic, Van Den Bosch.

    Rangers: McGregor, Tavernier, Helander, Goldson, Barisic, Arfield, Davis, Kamara, Roofe, Morelos, Aribo.

    Substitutes: Wright, Simpson, Hagi, Jack, Itten, Kent, Stewart, Balogun, McLaughlin.

  12. Steven Gerrard has said Ryan Kent has "a bit of an issue" and hence why he's on the bench. He will be used if needed, though, the Rangers boss says.

    Ryan Jack also rested after a long time out recently.

  13. Michael Stewart
    Former Scotland midfielder on BBC Sportsound

    If Rangers are going to go far in this competition, then Allan McGregor will have to continue at the high level we've seen. It's not just that he pulls off big saves, but he seldom makes mistakes.

  14. 'We want Antwerp to feel our aggression' - Gerrard

    Royal Antwerp v Rangers (20:00)

    Rangers manager Steven Gerrard tells BT Sport: "The players have trained at a real big level this week. They like playing in Europe. I want to see a performance full of belief. We're playing a good team but I'm sure we'll have our moments. I want us to be aggressive and really take our chances.

    "I want to make sure they [Antwerp] feel us tonight in terms of our aggression. I've picked players who are capable of taking shots on and scoring.

    "They've just got to go and execute the game plan now. We feel ready."

    Rangers manager Steven GerrardSNS

    Rangers manager Steven Gerrard

  15. Neil McCann
    Former Hearts & Rangers winger on BBC Sportsound

    I'm immediately drawn to no Ryan Kent, which is pretty unusual. Steven Gerrard is usually supportive of him even when his numbers aren't great, because he does a lot for the team.

  16. Match stats

    Antwerp v Rangers (20:00)

    • Antwerp face Rangers for the first time but have lost three of their four games against Scottish opponents. Their only victory was a 4-0 home vwin over Dundee United in the 1989/90 Uefa Cup.
    • This is Antwerp's first match in the knockout stages of a major European competition since they lost 2-10 on aggregate to Newcastle United in the 1994/95 Uefa Cup first round.
    • Rangers have only lost the first leg of a major European knockout tie once in their last nine, though this was last time out - against Bayer Leverkusen in last term's Europa League last 16.

  17. Peter Lovenkrands
    Former Rangers striker on Sportsound

    Rangers have had good results, but the standard recently hasn't been what it was up to Christmas. Hopefully tonight they can play more like that, and if they do I don't think Antwerp will have a chance.

  18. Away day blues

    Rangers fans have been deprived of another away trip here, so I've flung together a few facts about Antwerp to give you a sense of the place. Thank goodness for Wikipedia.

    • Belgium's second-most populous metropolitan area
    • Home to one of the world's biggest ports
    • It is famous for its diamond industry and trade (85% of the world's rough diamonds pass through the district annually)
    • Plus, you know, Belgian beer...
    The port house in Antwerp, BelgiumGetty Images

    The port house in Antwerp, Belgium

  19. Random trivia time

    Antwerp v Rangers (20:00)

    Here's a random piece of useless trivia that a colleague brought to my attention earlier.

    Antwerp came to Scotland in 2009 to mark the opening of Falkirk's new stand.

    One of the players involved that day? Scott Arfield.

    The most strange thing about that news story I've just linked to is that the money for the stand was donated by the owner of footwear brand Schuh.

    A new one for me, Clive.

    Scott Arfield playing for Falkirk in a friendly against AntwerpSNS

    Scott Arfield playing for Falkirk in a friendly against Antwerp in 2009

  20. Buffel's expert eye

    Antwerp v Rangers (20:00)

    We've spoken to former Rangers midfielder Thomas Buffel, who is currently the assistant manager at Cercle Brugge, for the lowdown on Antwerp.

    "They are an experienced team, they have an experienced coach, Franky Vercauteren, who likes a lot of concentration and blocks, that’s very important for him," he said.

    "They have some good players, like [Dieumerci] Mbokani, [Didier] Lamkel Ze, [Lior] Rafaelov.

    "At the back they have some power, it’s always important to be strong physically as well. They have a good mix of that, so it will be a tough game."