Rangers on Tuesday exited the UEFA Champions League after losing 2-0 to Dynamo Kyiv in the second leg of the third qualifying round, while Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce were knocked out by Lille OSC.
Hosts Rangers paid the price for a harsh second yellow card issued to Brazilian defender Jefte as Dynamo struck twice in the final 10 minutes through substitutes Oleksandr Pikhalonok and Nazar Voloshyn.
Rangers coach Philippe Clement blasted the referee’s decision that left his team with 10 men.
Photo: AP
“It’s hard for my team. They don’t deserve this after these two games versus Dynamo Kyiv. One person with one decision made a really big change for us,” Clement told BBC Scotland. “It’s the second time in my career of over 30 years that something unjust has happened. We can only accept it and move forward towards the league and the Europa League.”
Clement, who is looking to overhaul his squad in an attempt to challenge Celtic, said the defeat would have serious ramifications.
“Financially, it’s a big difference for the club. It will make a difference for the transfers coming in, also. I don’t expect this rebuild to be done in a few weeks’ time.”
Dynamo advanced 3-1 on aggregate and head into a playoff against Salzburg, who edged Twente 5-4 after a 3-3 draw in the return leg in the Netherlands.
Jonathan David’s penalty secured Lille a place in the next round as the French club snatched a 3-2 aggregate victory in Turkey, marking a disappointing start to Mourinho’s time in charge of Fenerbahce.
Fenerbahce lost the first leg 2-1 last week and appeared to be going out until Bafode Diakite’s late own-goal sent the match to extra-time.
Lille substitute Aissa Mandi was sent off on his debut for a reckless challenge on Irfan Can Kahveci, but the visitors were awarded a penalty for a handball by Jayden Oosterwolde and David made no mistake from the spot.
Cenk Tosun then headed against the bar as Lille held on. Their reward is a meeting with Slavia Prague, who were 4-1 aggregate winners over Union Saint-Gilloise.
Slovan Bratislava, who entered in the first qualifying round, overcame APOEL 2-0 over two legs.
They are to take on Midtjylland for a place in the new-look, 36-team tournament after the Danish champions beat Hungary’s Ferencvaros 3-1 on aggregate.
Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt eased through with a 4-1 win over Poland’s Jagiellonia Bialystok, completing a 5-1 aggregate triumph. Sweden’s Malmo won a thrilling tie with PAOK, striking late in Greece to force extra-time and then winning the second leg 4-3 to prevail 6-5 overall.
Sparta Prague beat Romanians FCSB 4-3 on aggregate, while Qarabag stunned Ludogorets with four goals in extra-time to pull off a remarkable 7-2 win in Bulgaria.
Kwadwo Duah netted twice to put Ludogorets 4-2 ahead in the tie, but the visitors from Azerbaijan scored six times without reply claim an 8-4 aggregate success.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS