Frankfurt and Rangers fight for finals
The semifinals of the Europa League and Europa Conference League initiated high-level drama. Eintracht Frankfurt entered their first European final in 42 years by ousting West Ham out of the Europa League.
Players of Frankfurt celebrate after the UEFA Europa League semifinal second leg football match between Eintracht Frankfurt of Germany and West Ham United FC of EnglandFrankfurt will face the title game against Scottish club Rangers. The former defeated 10-man West Ham 1-0 at home to finish with a 3-1 aggregate victory in the semifinals. It marks Frankfurt's first European final since beating Borussia Mönchengladbach in 1980 in the UEFA Cup before the Europa League.
On the other hand, Rangers made a comeback from a 1-0 deficit in the first leg by defeating RB Leipzig 3-1 at the Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow. Rangers will be playing its first European final since their loss against Zenit St. Petersburg in the UEFA Cup back in 2008. The Scottish club will be aiming for its first European title in 50 years after they clinched the Cup Winners' Cup in 1972. In the inaugural Europa Conference League.
Frankfurt sack an easy win after West Ham defender Cresswell leaves the match.
Frankfurt had steady progress after Aaron Cresswell exited the court due to a foul on Jens Petter Hauge in the 19th minute, and Rafael Borre struck home seven minutes later, which gave them a two-goal lead on aggregate. Cresswell had also received a red card in the 1-1 home draw against Lyon in the quarterfinals. The defender was offered a yellow for his foul on Hauge, but the referee changed it to a red after rewatching what went down on the pitchside monitor. Before the game, more than 30 people were arrested after supporters of the two clubs clashed in several locations in Frankfurt, as stated by the police. The final match will occur at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium in Seville on May 18.
Massive victory for Rangers
Rangers are through to the Europa League final after a 3-1 semifinal second-leg victory over RB Leipzig. Trailing 1-0 from the first leg in Germany, things turned around when skipper James Tavernier levelled the tie on aggregate in the 18th minute with a close-range score. Midfielder Glen Kamara scored the second goal from 20 yards just six minutes after the first one. Shortly after, Christopher Nkunku brought Leipzig back into the game when he levelled the tie in the 70th minute with a volley. However, John Lundstram struck home with 10 minutes remaining to usher his team to the Seville final against Eintracht Frankfurt.