"Teddy bears" against "German eagles". Who reached the final of the Europa League

Eintracht (Germany) - Glasgow Rangers (Scotland)

The Europa League final will take place at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium in Seville. The arena is home to the local team Sevilla, a multiple winner of the tournament. This year, the Spanish club again participated in the playoffs of the Europa League, but at the 1/8 stage they lost to the English club West Ham.

The stadium can accommodate 45,000 fans and there is no doubt that all seats will be filled during the match. More than 20,000 fans came to support the team from Germany for the quarter-final match against Barcelona at Camp Nou, drowning out the fans of the Spanish team. At the same time, one source told ESPN that out of almost 80 thousand spectators at the Camp Nou, up to 30 thousand people supported the German club.

Barcelona President Joan Laporta, when asked why so many season ticket holders did not redeem their seats for the game, said it was a shame and he felt embarrassed.
 

At the group stage of the Europa League, the German Eagles took first place and immediately reached the 1/8 finals, where they met with the Spanish Betis. It is symbolic that Betis also plays in Seville, which means that the German team will start and finish the playoffs of the tournament in the same city.

Eintracht defeated Betis 3-2 on aggregate and reached the quarterfinals, where they had to play against the main favorite of the tournament - Barcelona. For the Xavi team, this season was the most difficult in recent decades. For the first time in 20 years, Barcelona did not reach the playoffs of the Champions League and went to the second most important tournament, the Europa League, for the trophy.

The first quarter-final match ended in a draw, but in the second match the main sensation of the tournament happened - Eintracht beat Barcelona. The meeting ended with the score 4:3

In the semi-finals, Eintracht Frankfurt defeated the English West Ham with a total score of 3: 1. If in the first match the English team put up decent resistance and could even the score in the last minutes. But in the second leg, the Hammers got sent off and conceded the ball. The two-legged confrontation ended with a total score of 3: 1 and Eintracht earned access to the Europa League final.

The last time Glasgow Rangers reached the final of the UEFA Cup was in 2008, where they played with St. Petersburg Zenit. Then the Russian club won and won the title for the first time in its history. After that, the club went through a long and painful bankruptcy procedure. In 2012, Scotland's most decorated club was relegated to League Four.

The "Teddy Bears", as they are affectionately called by the fans (another name for "Jersey"), was able to knock out two main favorites of the tournament - Borussia Dortmund at the 1/16 stage and German Leipzig in the semi-finals. In the 1/8 finals, the Scots beat the Serbian "Tsrevna Zvezda", and in the quarter-finals they defeated the Portuguese "Braga" in extra time.

The semi-final match against Leipzig was extremely dramatic for the Rangers. In the first meeting, Leipzig won, thanks to Angelino's goal and total dominance during the match. Domenico Tedesco's team traditionally played with a high pressure line and deservedly won.

Before the second match, almost none of the experts doubted the passage of Leipzig. However, already in the first half, first James Tavernier and then Glen Camara brought the Scottish team ahead in the sum of two meetings. Tedesco's team counterpressed in the second half and scored one goal. However, after a corner kick, the Rangers were able to score and took the lead again.

Eintracht Frankfurt is a fairly authentic team from the middle of the Bundesliga standings. The team plays with a high line of defense, is not afraid to go into pressure. In the current European Cup draw, Eintracht have not suffered a single defeat.

The Rangers, on the other hand, are able to play on the opponent and, if necessary, can play on defense. An important difference is the fact that the Scottish team has already played for the playoffs several times and spent additional forces. One match may not be enough for such a team to achieve the desired result. In addition, it is not clear whether the "teddy bears" will be able to contain the tension from the "eagles" throughout the match.

According to the bookmakers, Eintracht Frankfurt is the favorite of the match. Cool line-up, organized game allow giving preference to the German club. But fans with a high degree of confidence can expect scoring chances in both directions.

The strengths of both teams are definitely not concentrated in defensive actions. Eintracht have conceded 5 out of 6 playoff matches and Rangers 7 out of 8.