Rangers Vs. Eintracht - UEFA Europa League Final 2022 Preview

The Spanish city of Seville is preparing to celebrate a football carnival. According to some estimates, up to 90,000 Rangers supporters are expected in the Spanish city, and 50,000 Eintracht fans are expected to travel from Germany. The Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium, where the final will take place, has a capacity of about 44,000. For the first time since 1986, Seville's football stadium will host a European final on the 18th night, so the atmosphere is sure to be special. The final will mark Frankfurt's first European championship following the win of the UEFA Europa League Final Cup in 1980, whereas it retains happy thoughts of edging Rangers in the last four of the European Cup 20 years back when it beat the Scottish club 12-4 on goal differential.

The Rangers fans who do not have passes will be able to see the match at the La Cartuja Stadium, located five miles from the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium, while the Frankfurt fans without seating passes will be directed to the Prado de San Sebastian, which is nearer to the city center but three miles from La Cartuja.

Road to the Finals

Rangers

As they gear up to take on Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Europa League final on May 18, Rangers are favorites to lift their first European trophy in half a century, ten years after bankruptcy pushed them into Scotland's bottom division. Rangers in 2012 were marred by the insolvency, collapse, and demotion of the club, but after the Scottish Premiership title triumph last season, they now stand a shot to embrace European honors in Seville. As a result of the Rangers' triumph in the Scottish Championship, they had the opportunity to participate in the Champions League but ended up going down to Malmo in a third-round qualifier. This led to a clash with the Armenian side Alashkert to earn qualification for the Europa League.

After Steven Gerrard moved to Aston Villa, Rangers, managed by Giovanni van Bronckhorst, had victories over Borussia Dortmund, Red Star Belgrade, Braga, and Leipzig in the elimination matches to make the finals for the first time in the last decade. After edging Dynamo Moscow in Barcelona in 1972, Rangers lifted their first cup on the European level when they won the Winners' Cup.

Two wins and two draws in the final four games allowed the Rangers to finish one point ahead of Sparta and make it to the play-off round. That period coincided with Steven Gerrard's departure, to be replaced by Van Bronckhorst. It was expected they would face the might of Borussia Dortmund and Erling Haaland in the Champions League, but the Rangers shocked them by going ahead 3-0 to see their opponents drop out. Because of Covid restrictions, Signal Iduna Park was significantly quieter than usual in the first leg. After the return fixture at Ibrox, they recorded a shocking 6-4 aggregate win.

As they did in the round of 16, they were able to take home advantage against Red Star Belgrade, winning the game 4-2 on aggregate, but lost the first leg 1-0 away from home against Braga in the quarterfinals. In extra time, Van Bronckhorst's team scored the winning goal to send the tie to extra time. Aaron Ramsey has returned from injury, which has given the team another boost.  

Although forward Roofe is in the mix to make the final, Van Brockhorst believes it will be a close call. Rangers had not fielded a forward after April 17, when they won against Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-finals, and the manager will again have to come up with creative thinking for who to tuck in at the top against Frankfurt.

James Tavernier has consistently scored for the Rangers in Europe since Alfredo Morelos was injured. With his ability to score in the opposition box, the veteran has outperformed everyone else in the competition this season and heads into the final as the top scorer in the Europa League. Tavernier's seven Europa League goals in the 2021-22 season have all come in the knockout rounds. Ryan Kent is an outstanding natural talent. The winger, however, had just been playing for just seven months before the change in management. Stephen took advantage of Ryan's central position in order to get space from the defenders. Van Bronckhorst, on the other hand, has allowed Ryan the license to move freely in the vast areas as he pleases.

Kent is playing well right now, and he's very confident. Rangers will look to feed the 25-year-old with the ball as often as possible, and Eintracht Frankfurt's defense may have to play even harder to halt him. Ryan has always had his name associated with a transfer to the Premier League. Helping the Rangers win the Europa League could be his final act at the club.

Ranger's semi-final victory over RB Leipzig was impressive in part due to the fact that it was achieved with a number of key players out injured. After suffering a thigh injury in March, Alfredo Morelos finished Rangers' Europa League season with leading scorer status. Roofe, his immediate successor, was also out of the competition.

Eintracht Frankfurt 

The Scottish side will face Eintracht Frankfurt in its next match in Europe, where the German side heads as clear underdogs. After beating Real Betis, Barcelona, and West Ham, Frankfurt will go into the final after an uneventful league season that ended with the team finishing 11th in the Bundesliga. 

As Frankfurt scythed through West Ham's defense before teeing up Kamada for the winning goal, Kamada's goal was a perfect example of the German team's brilliant approach play. For Oliver Glasner's side, Kamada has picked up five goals in the Europa League this season, while Filip Kostic has chipped in with three goals and three assists. 

Rivalry

In 1960, these teams played each other twice in the semi-final of the UEFA Europa League Final Cup, their first encounter occurring in the first leg. It is not necessary to mention that neither side has much of a rivalry; however, both sides will be highly motivated upon playing the most important match of their campaigns.

Since 1958, the arena has been used for matches and has also been host to games at FIFA World Cups. In 1986, the arena hosted FC Steaua Bucuresti's shootout victory over Barcelona at the European Cup Final. In the history of the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League, Sevilla boasts a particularly prominent presence; the club has won both competitions a whopping six times: twice as the UEFA Cup, and four more times as the UEFA Europa League, most recently in 2019/20.

Conclusion

How much do the champions get?

As of 2015, the UEFA Europa League Final trophy stands at 15kg, making it the heaviest silverware in the UEFA trophy cabinet. The trophy doesn't have handles to further spice things up. As a result, the winning team was given 40 gold medals, while the runners-up were awarded 40 silver medals. There will likely be no further medals awarded. Despite not qualifying through their domestic competition, the winners will gain entry to the UEFA Champions League group stage in 2022/23.

Two 15-minute periods of extra time are played when the score at the end of normal time is equal. During extra time, one of the teams needs to get more goals than the other to be determined as the champion. Even when the scores are still tied after extra time, the winners of the UEFA Europa League Final 2022 will be decided by penalties.