Eintracht Frankfurt to face Rangers in Europa League final
Eintracht Frankfurt plays West Ham United in the Europa League semifinal second leg in Deutsche Bank Park, Frankfurt, German, May 5, 2022. (Reuters Photo)


Eintracht Frankfurt and the Rangers are slated to face off on May 18 in the Europa League final after knocking West Ham United and RB Leipzig out of the competition, respectively.

Eintracht Frankfurt beat 10-man West Ham United 1-0 in the Europa League semifinal second leg on Thursday to reach its first European final in 42 years with a 3-1 aggregate victory.

The Germans, who last featured in a European final in 1980, will face Rangers on May 18 after the Scottish side knocked out RB Leipzig.

In front of a deafening 48,000 crowd, Rafael Borre drilled in the winner for the hosts in the 26th minute, beating the English club for a second time following a 2-1 triumph in the first leg last week.

West Ham, who played most of the game with 10 men after left back Aaron Cresswell was dismissed for a professional foul on Jens Petter Hauge in the 17th minute, was toothless throughout.

The team's manager David Moyes was also sent off in the 79th minute for angrily kicking a ball in a frustrating and scrappy end to West Ham's European run this season.

It had not started well for Frankfurt, though, with defender Martin Hinteregger taken off only eight minutes with a hamstring injury.

But the dismissal of Creswell opened up space down the wing for the Germans and Ansgar Knauff made the most of it when he charged through and delivered a perfect ball for Borre to score.

West Ham hardly got a look in and its best chance came a minute from halftime when Kurt Zouma's close-range effort was cleared off the line.

The team was equally ineffectual after the break with Moyes's frustration boiling over when he kicked the ball at a ball boy who he thought was trying to waste time.

With the home fans kicking off celebrations early for what turned out to be a memorable evening for the club struggling in mid-table in the Bundesliga, Eintracht comfortably held on to its lead.

Rangers fight back to reach final

John Lundstram struck 10 minutes from time to give Rangers a 3-1 win over RB Leipzig and send them into the Europa League final 3-2 on aggregate after a see-saw clash at a rocking Ibrox on Thursday.

Goals from James Tavernier, Glen Kamara and Lundstram ensured Rangers moved to the final for the first time since 2008, where they will face Eintracht Frankfurt bidding to win a second European trophy in 50 years after the 1972 Winners' Cup.

Captain Tavernier opened the scoring in the 18th minute, becoming the Europa League's top scorer this season with his seventh goal, before midfielder Kamara's long-range effort six minutes later extended the lead.

Leipzig, who won the first leg 1-0, hit back when forward Christopher Nkunku received a perfect cross from Angelino to score in the 70th minute but Rangers claimed the vital goal when a defensive mix-up after a corner allowed Lundstram to sweep the ball home.