Rangers 3 Rapid Vienna 1: Late show gets Gerrard up and running in Europe
Steven Gerrard's Rangers moved top of Europa League Group G as late goals from James Tavernier and Alfredo Morelos saw off Rapid Vienna 3-1.
Published : Oct 05, 2018 09:25 IST
Alfredo Morelos scored twice as Steven Gerrard's Rangers moved top of Europa League Group G with a 3-1 victory over Rapid Vienna.
In a first European group-stage fixture at Ibrox since 2010, Vienna - under new boss Dietmar Kuhbauer - kicked the contest into life 42 minutes in through Veton Berisha's controversial opener.
Although Andrei Ivan had blatantly strayed offside down the right, the officials failed to spot it, and Rangers was made to pay when the winger's cross was deflected to Berisha for a simple finish.
Rangers twice fought back against Villarreal in their opening game, though, and Gerrard's side was level inside a minute when Morelos nudged home James Tavernier's delivery.
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Tavernier almost had another assist when he found Ovie Ejaria, but the youngster's effort was brilliantly kept out by Richard Strebinger.
But, Rangers' pressure finally told when Morelos drew a clumsy foul from Mario Sonnleitner, and captain Tavernier made no mistake, slamming a powerful finish into the right-hand corner to send the Ibrox crowd into raptures.
Rangers was not finished there, though, with Morelos racing clear to wrap up the points in stoppage time and provide a timely boost ahead of Sunday's clash with Scottish Premiership leader Hearts.