{"id":10025,"date":"2025-04-11T11:27:32","date_gmt":"2025-04-11T08:27:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/?p=10025"},"modified":"2025-04-11T11:27:41","modified_gmt":"2025-04-11T08:27:41","slug":"heroic-rangers-secure-draw-against-athletic-in-uel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/football-news\/heroic-rangers-secure-draw-against-athletic-in-uel\/","title":{"rendered":"Heroic Rangers Secure Draw Against Athletic in UEL"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In a tense UEFA Europa League quarter-final first leg at Ibrox, Rangers defied the odds by holding Spanish giants Athletic Club to a 0-0 draw, despite playing over 75 minutes with just 10 men. A red card, a dramatic VAR intervention, and a heroic penalty save by Liam Kelly kept the dream alive for the Scottish side, who are still gunning for continental glory after domestic disappointment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early Drama: Pr\u00f6pper Sees Red<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rangers came into this game knowing the Europa League is their final shot at silverware this season. But their aggressive start turned sour early when Robin Pr\u00f6pper was controversially sent off in the 12th minute. His foul on Nico Williams initially drew a yellow card, but after a VAR review, referee Istv\u00e1n Kov\u00e1cs upgraded it to a straight red for denying a clear scoring chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rangers fans feared a long night with the odds now stacked heavily against them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Heroic
Photo courtesy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kelly & the 10 Men Hold Firm<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite the numerical disadvantage, Rangers remained defiant. Cyriel Dessers came close in the 23rd minute, unleashing a fierce strike that narrowly missed the target. Meanwhile, Athletic Club ramped up the pressure, but Liam Kelly, making his first start in this European campaign, stood tall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He denied Maroan Sannadi with a fingertip save before calmly collecting Oihan Sancet\u2019s powerful header. Rangers\u2019 compact defence frustrated the visitors, who struggled to capitalise on their extra man for most of the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VAR Chaos & Kelly\u2019s Heroics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Athletic had a golden opportunity in the 76th minute when \u00c1lex Berenguer appeared to fire them ahead with a brilliant finish. But the celebrations were cut short after VAR spotted an offside in the buildup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seconds later, another twist: a handball by Dujon Sterling gifted Athletic a penalty. Berenguer stepped up again, this time from the spot, but Kelly denied him with an instinctive leg save that sparked jubilation across Ibrox.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Heroic
Photo courtesy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Second Leg Awaits: All Eyes on Bilbao<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Athletic pressed hard in the closing stages, primarily through 12 minutes of added time, but could not find a way through. The goalless draw means Rangers head to the Basque Country still very much in the tie, albeit as underdogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A potential semi-final against Manchester United or Olympique Lyonnais awaits, but first, Rangers must summon the same grit and resilience in Bilbao to keep their European hopes alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kenyan Fans: Bet Big on Bangbet!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As the Europa League action intensifies, Kenyan football lovers can get in on the thrill with Bangbet.com<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 the ultimate platform for live football betting. With high odds on every Europa League fixture, quick cashouts, and a user-friendly interface, Bangbet <\/a>gives you more chances to win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sign up today<\/a>, place bets on Rangers\u2019 second-leg clash or any other UEL fixture, and enjoy unmatched excitement with Bangbet <\/strong><\/a>\u2013 Kenya\u2019s home of top football odds<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Heroic
Photo courtesy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Final Word<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rangers may be battered but not broken. They’ve kept their Europa League journey alive with a goalless draw and a standout performance from Liam Kelly. All roads now lead to Bilbao, where the battle for a semi-final ticket continues. Will the Gers defy the odds again? Time will tell \u2014 and Bangbet<\/a> will be right there with you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a tense UEFA Europa League quarter-final first leg at Ibrox, Rangers defied the odds by holding Spanish giants Athletic Club to a 0-0 draw, despite playing over 75 minutes with just 10 men. A red card, a dramatic VAR intervention, and a heroic penalty save by Liam Kelly kept the dream alive for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":10029,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[211,529,505,490,313,38,492,78,314],"class_list":{"0":"post-10025","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football-news","8":"tag-bangbet","9":"tag-bangbet-affiliate","10":"tag-bangbet-bonanza","11":"tag-bangbet-epl-bonanza","12":"tag-europa-league","13":"tag-kenya","14":"tag-more-than-win","15":"tag-sports-betting-africa","16":"tag-uefa-europa-league"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10025"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10025\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10030,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10025\/revisions\/10030"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bangbet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}