Rangers vs Tottenham LIVE: Europa League result and reaction as Spurs and Gers play out thrilling draw
Rangers 1-1 Tottenham: An entertaining clash at Ibrox saw Dejan Kulusevski earn Spurs a draw after Hamza Igamane had given Gers the lead
Rangers earned a 1-1 draw with Premier League opposition as they and Tottenham played out a thrilling Europa League clash on former Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou’s return to Ibrox.
A frantic end-to-end encounter saw Hamza Igamane give Gers the lead early in the second half but Postecoglou’s subs made the difference and Dejan Kulusevski finished off a lovely team move for the equaliser 15 minutes from time.
It means both teams are right on the cusp of an all-important top eight spot that would put them straight into the last 16 of the competition with two crucial group stage matches remaining in the New Year.
The draw does mean that Spurs have now only won one game from their last eight and the pressure on Postecoglou won’t have lessened too much after this result, although there were some positive signs from the English outfit.
Follow all the Europa League action with our live blog below:
Tottenham’s comedy of errors leaves questions over Ange Postecoglou’s future
Spurs were 2-0 up after 12 minutes, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was shaking with noise and Chelsea’s stumbling defender Marc Cucurella was so harrowed by his nightmare start that he’d had to change his boots. So perhaps the greatest indictment of this Spurs side is that even in that moment of utter dominance, with the game gift-wrapped and in the palm of their hands, you just knew they could fumble it at any moment.
Behind some brilliant Chelsea play to engineer a four-goal comeback was a comedy of Spurs errors, an unravelling of devastating proportions. Jadon Sancho was allowed to dribble from the touchline to the edge of the box and shoot. Yves Bissouma gave away a needless penalty with a lunge that could be seen long before it happened, yards before he actually clattered through Moises Caicedo. Pape Matar Sarr’s bungled challenge on Cole Palmer was even more foolish, given the forward was facing the corner flag at the time.
Tottenham’s comedy of errors leaves questions over Ange Postecoglou’s future
Rangers vs Tottenham possible line-ups
Here’s how we see the two teams lining-up against each other this evening:
Rangers XI: Butland; Tavernier, Souttar, Balogun, Jefte; Raskin, Diomande, Barron; Cerny, Dressers, Igamane
Tottenham XI: Forster; Porro, Gray, Dragusin, Udogie; Bentancur, Sarr, Maddison; Johnson, Solanke, Werner
What is the team news?
Rangers will be without both Ianis Hagi and Danilo they are not in their Europa League squad, while Tom Lawrence is a doubt due to injury. Cyriel Dressers and Dujon Sterling may come in.
Tottenham lost Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven to injury against Chelsea. Ben Davies is out as well, along with Guglielmo Vicario, Richarlison and Wilson Odobert. Rodrigo Bentancur is available for Europe.
How can I watch it?
It will be shown live on TNT Sports 1, with coverage starting at 7:00pm. TNT Sports customers can also stream the match live on Discovery+. You can purchase a TNT Sports subscription via discovery+ here, for only £30.99 per month.
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When is Rangers vs Tottenham?
The Europa League fixture will kick off at 8pm GMT on Thursday 12 December.
Rangers vs Tottenham
Rangers host Tottenham in a “battle of Britain” in the Europa League as under-pressure Ange Postecoglou returns to Ibrox.
Spurs have one just win in their last seven games and have lost back-to-back matches in the Premier League, but Postecoglou has fond memories of Glasgow having overseen a successful two-year spell in charge of Rangers’ bitter rivals Celtic.
Postecoglou enjoyed a fine record in the Old Firm, with Celtic winning six of their 11 matches against Rangers during his tenure. But his Tottenham reign is threatening to unravel after the defeats to Bournemouth and Chelsea, with last month’s 4-0 win at Man City fading from memory.
Both teams are in a good position to advance in Europe with Rangers eighth in the table following an impressive 4-1 win at Nice last time out. Philippe Clement’s side have found some form, with four wins in a row in all competitions, but the Belgian remains under pressure too ahead of Sunday’s League Cup final against Celtic.
Tottenham are ninth in the Europa League standings following a 2-2 draw at home to Roma last time out.
Good evening!
Welcome to The Independent’s coverage on tonight’s Europa League action as Tottenham face off with Rangers at Ibrox.
Both sides have performed well in Europe so far but with the league phase drawing to a close they will want as many points as possible to ensure they finish inside the top eight.
We’ll have all the team news, line-ups and more throughout the night so stick with us as we build up to kick off at 8pm.
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