Ten-man Rangers salvaged a goalless draw with Athletic Club in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League quarter-final at Ibrox. Liam Kelly was the hero, saving an 82nd-minute penalty from Alex Berenguer on his first start in this season’s competition.
After another Scottish title failure and a cup elimination against lower league opponents, a Rangers side now solely targeting the Europa League were expected to start robustly.
Unfortunately for the 2022 Europa League runners-up, Robin Propper followed the memo a bit too closely, finding himself dismissed after 12 minutes.
His foul on Nico Williams initially only brought a yellow card out of Istvan Kovacs’ pocket. However, to the Dutch defender’s dismay, VAR saw the punishment upgraded to a straight red card for denying a clear scoring opportunity.
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‘It saddens me’ – Rangers star LEAVES club without chance to say goodbye and claims he ‘wasn’t afforded opp… Jonathon Moar 4 – 5 minutes He’s vowed to return to the club in the future Published: 9:50, 20 May 2025 Updated: 9:50, 20 May 2025 IT’S going to be a summer of big changes at Rangers. And one long-serving star has confirmed he’s on his way OUT of the club this summer. Rangers players celebrating with the SPFL Premiership trophy. 3 Leon Balogun won the Scottish Premiership title with RangersCredit: The Sun Leon Balogun of Rangers applauding at a football match. 3 He appears to have played his last game for the clubCredit: SNS With the US takeover of Rangers close to completion, a new sporting director in place and a new manager on the brink of being appointed, it’s going to be all things change at Ibrox. Alongside the off-field changes, there’s likely to be a significant amount of upheaval with regards to the playing squad as well. Loan star Vaclav Cerny already appears to have said his goodbye while other players’ contracts are coming to an end. One of those is veteran defender Leon Balogun. READ MORE RANGERS STORIES A popular figure with players and fans alike, the Nigeria international will turn 37 next month. He initially joined Rangers from Wigan in 2020 and went on to be a part of the side that won the Scottish Premiership title under Steven Gerrard in 2021. Balogun’s deal expired in 2022 and there was considerable surprise that he wasn’t afforded a new one. After a season with QPR, he returned to Rangers in July 2023 on a one-year contract. Despite injury setbacks and his advancing years, Balogun continued to prove himself a consistent and reliable performer. He earned another one-year contract but it looks like a third year will NOT be forthcoming. Kris Boyd says Rangers players were in SHOCK that ‘ghost goal’ against Hibs wasn’t given Balogun – who stated his desire to stay at Rangers just last week – appears to have confirmed his exit in an emotional message. The lengthy and frank post on social media also sees Balogun bemoan the fact he doesn’t believe he was afforded the opportunity to say a proper goodbye – going so far to say it SADDENS him. The defender, who has declared himself a Rangers fan, vowed ‘not to be a stranger’ in the future. On Instagram, Balogun said: “It’s that time again. “No caption could summarise all that is going through my mind as I’m writing these lines. “It’s been nothing short of an honour, a pleasure and a great, great privilege to represent this massive club – twice! “So many memories, good ones as well as a few tough ones. “But it’s the latter especially that made my love for the club grow even stronger. “The moments when we all stuck together and went again – no matter the disappointment or frustration. In these moments the club revealed what makes it most special: YOU. “The people supporting us week in week out, near and far, demanding, expecting, pushing us to do better and go for glory. “The people working for the club behind the scenes, meeting us with a smile everyday, doing their absolute best to contribute to the success of the club in their own way. You’re the heartbeat of the club and it’s been an honour to represent you! “If I would have known that the last two games of the season were my last for the club I would have made sure to say goodbye to all of you accordingly. “Unfortunately I wasn’t afforded that opportunity which saddens me as I would have liked to have walked round Ibrox one last time and returned all the love and support you’ve given me during my 2 stints. “I don’t know when I’ll be back, but I promise I won’t be a stranger. “Thank you for making me feel at home and appreciated wherever we met. “You’ve become more than just my club, you’ve become family. “And for that I will be forever grateful.” Read more on the Scottish Sun Rangers’ search for a new manager, meanwhile, is nearing a close. SunSport exclusively revealed last night that Steven Gerrard and Russell Martin are the two candidates going head-to-head to become the next Light Blues boss. Soccer player Leon Balogun in uniform, applauding. 3 Balogun posted his goodbye on InstagramCredit: INSTAGRAM/@LEONBALOGUN Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
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Despite now playing with 10 men, Rangers railed and nearly broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute, as Cyriel Dessers’ fierce effort flew narrowly wide of Julen Agirrezabala’s right-hand post.
But although Athletic then piled on the pressure throughout the rest of the first half, their numerical upper hand only led to two quick-fire shots on target.
First, Kelly tipped Maroan Sannadi’s strike over the bar before the Scotsman confidently kept hold of Oihan Sancet’s header from the resulting corner.
There was further frustration for Sannadi just before the hour mark too, as he inexplicably skied an effort high into the stands, despite being unmarked in front of goal with only Kelly to beat.
That glaring miss initially appeared to have been rendered academic in the 76th minute, with Berenguer apparently firing the visitors ahead with a sublime strike.
However, VAR took centre stage again, disallowing the effort after discovering an offside in the build-up – though there was a penalty awarded for a Dujon Sterling handball in the area.
Berenguer took it upon himself to stare down Kelly, but the latter prevailed, with his legs sending the kick over.
While there were ultimately no goals here in Glasgow, despite Athletic being gifted 12 minutes of stoppage time, there was no shortage of entertainment or drama tonight.
Rangers now prepare to touch down in the Basque country, and will do so as clear underdogs, as they look to atone for their heartbreak of 2022 and reach a semi-final against either Manchester United or Olympique Lyonnais.
