Rangers were caught out twice when Benfica managed a 2-2 draw at the Estadio da Luz in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16.
Tom Lawrence gave the visitors the lead in the opening 10 minutes before Angel Di Maria scored Benfica’s point from the penalty spot after John Souttar cruelly penalised for an alleged handball.
The decision, taken in second-half stoppage time after a VAR review, is another example of the discrepancies surrounding the questionable handball rule when Souttar was penalised for directing the ball towards his arm, a handling of complaints that Philippe Clement recently denounced.
Dujon Sterling did justice moments later by turning away a clever low cross from Fabio Silva, but belligerent Benfica refused to be turned away and equalised for a second time when Connor Goldson desperately scored his in the 67th minute.
Clément’s Gers will host the Primeira Liga runners-up at Ibrox in a week’s time, with the situation delicately balanced for a position in the quarter-finals of the competition.
Much of the pre-match conversation focused on Clement’s limited roles up front. He was without the four injured wingers: Abdallah Sima, Scott Wright, Rabbi Matondo and Oscar Cortes, although the latter is not part of the European team.
With Ross McCausland having compatibility to start on the bench, that meant there was no width in attack.
To Clément’s delight, midfielder Lawrence gave the visitors an impressive lead with a well-crafted header, sending Mohamed Diomande’s cross into a bold header from the left past Anatoliy Trubin.
Jack Butland then made a double save, first from Neres and then from striker Arthur Cabral with a loose ball, his shot partially blocked by Souttar.
However, after VAR Marco Fritz intervened following another Benfica corner, the Gers defender was penalised by German referee Tobias Stieler for pushing the ball with his arm while defending the pass, allowing Di Maria to send Butland off with a guaranteed penalty.
There was even more drama in the first half in the final minute of five stoppage time, when Sterling volleyed home to convert Silva’s deflected cross from close range – a moment of restorative justice, given the harshness of the penalty.
Benfica then fell back midway through the second half when Di Maria unleashed an innocent free-kick towards the Rangers goal and Goldson stretched to clear but inadvertently headed past Butland.
The second leg promises even more thrills and twists and turns, but the Rangers will finish the job at home, a ground where they have only lost once to Clement.
Rangers coach Philippe Clément:
“We were on the verge of achieving this miracle, being the first Europa League team to win here.
“It’s a shame that we’re facing a penalty like that, it’s an unfortunate situation, the ball falls and John doesn’t see it and it falls on his arm. It’s unfortunate.
“We were close, we had two chances with Fabio (Silva) and Cyriel (Dessers) to make it 3-1, I would have replaced a lot of things in this game, but I’m proud of my team.
“They showed character, personality and solidarity with the ball as well, we scored two very good goals.
“I’m not an easy user, but I can’t give more than they gave today. They gave it their all and so did the guys who came in. “
“We were missing a lot of players in the attacking position, so other players had to do the job. I’m very satisfied with Fabio and Dujon.
“We have to keep it up. If we keep the mentality they’ve shown over the last few months, it might only be one season. “
Asked if Rangers now had merit in the draw, the Belgian coach replied: “It’s just a merit that it’s at Ibrox. If our fans are as productive as possible from the first moment to the last moment, then they can give a lot. “of energy. ” to the team.
“But we remain realistic about Benfica’s qualities. This week you wrote about the difference in movement budgets and that’s the reality. If we could eliminate this team, I think it would be huge, huge.
“I can only ask my players to give their best and show that they did it again tonight, Thursday. “
Benfica returns to the Portuguese league on Sunday against Estoril Praia; The start will be at 8:30 p. m.
Meanwhile, Rangers will face Hibernian in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup on Sunday; The start will be at 5:30 p. m.
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