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Glasgow Rangers take on Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Europa League Final tonight with three Nigeria internationals and we’ve pulled together some of the best Fast Facts for the game here.
- This will be Rangers’ fifth European final, following appearances in the Cup Winners’ Cup finals in 1961, 1967 and 1972 and, most recently, the UEFA Cup final in 2008. The Light Blues, of course, beat Dinamo Moscow at the Camp Nou in 1972, thanks to two goals from Willie Johnston and one from Colin Stein.
- Rangers’ only previous encounters with Eintracht Frankfurt came in the semi-finals of the European Cup in season 1959/60, where the German side won 12-4 on aggregate, winning 6-1 in Germany before emerging with a 6-3 victory at Ibrox. Eintracht would go on to lose 7-3 to Real Madrid in the final at Hampden Park.
- Rangers have met Eintracht in two friendly matches, going down 3-2 in a game played before over 104,000 at Hampden Park in October 1961, despite a double from Harold Davis, before finally getting a victory against the German side in August 1967 when Alex Ferguson grabbed a hat-trick in a 5-3 victory at Ibrox. Andy Penman and Orjan Persson also got on the scoresheet.
- This is the first time in the 58 seasons that Rangers have competed in European competition that they have faced three sides from the same country in a single campaign, having already beaten Eintracht’s fellow Bundesliga sides Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig. On only 10 occasions have Rangers faced two sides from a single country in the one season – 1966/67 (Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich); 1967/68 (Dynamo Dresden and Cologne, albeit at the time representing East Germany and West Germany); 1982/83 (Cologne and Borussia Dortmund); 1999/2000 (Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, albeit in different competitions); 2001/02 (Anzhi Makhachkala and Dinamo Moscow); 2006/07 (Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Tel-Aviv); 2007/08 (VfB Stuttgart and Werder Bremen in different competitions); 2018/19 (FC Ufa and Spartak Moscow); 2019/20 (FC Porto and SC Braga) and 2020/21 (Standard Liege and Royal Antwerp).
- This will be the 64th of 65 competitive matches played by Rangers this season in all competitions and is the second most of any season, beaten only by the 68 matches played in the previous season in which the club reached a European final in season 2007/08.
- Rangers have used 27 players in their 16 Europa League games this season. They are: Joe Aribo (16 appearances), Connor Goldson (15), James Tavernier (14), Calvin Bassey (14), Glen Kamara (14), John Lundstram (14), Allan McGregor (14), Borna Barisic (14), Ryan Kent (13), Scott Arfield (13), Alfredo Morelos (11), Leon Balogun (10), Fashion Sakala (10), Scott Wright (9), Steven Davis (8), Kemar Roofe (8), Ryan Jack (8), Ianis Hagi (7), Juninho Bacuna (4), James Sands (4), Nathan Patterson (3), Filip Helander (2), Cedric Itten (2), Aaron Ramsey (2), Jon McLaughlin (1), Stephen Kelly (1), Robby McCrorie (1).
- Rangers have netted 23 goals in their 16 Europa League games this season with the scorers as follows: James Tavernier (7), Alfredo Morelos (5), Kemar Roofe (2), Leon Balogun (2), John Lundstram (2), Scott Wright (1), Ianis Hagi (1), Ryan Kent (1), Glen Kamara (1), own goals (1).
*Culled from Rangers website
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