Rangers left it late to grab the only goal of the fourth round Europa League qualifier. Alfredo Morelos' header made it 1-0 to the hosts sending Polish side Legia Warsaw crashing out of Europe and the light blues into the hat for the group stage draw, which takes place on Friday 30th (12.00 GMT). 

The Story of the Match

It was a fiery encounter between the the two sides at Ibrox with all to play for after the 0-0 draw in Warsaw the previous week. Legia Warsaw proved to be a difficult test for the Gers in their fourth and final qualifying round to reach the group stages in the Europa League for the second season in succession. 

The visitors nearly gave themselves the perfect start to the second leg as Sandro Kulenovic did well to get his shot away but he failed to test Allan McGregor and it was saved comfortably. 

It wasn't long before Rangers started to threaten Radoslaw Majecki's goalmouth. Ryan Jack did well to keep possession of the ball and supply a cross to the back post but Morelos couldn't find the back of the net with his headed effort. 

James Tavernier was fortunate he didn't gift the opposition the opening goal as he lost the ball to Lucas Lima Luquinhas in a dangerous area but he scuffed the shot and McGregor was there to make the save. 

Morelos looked hungry for goals in the second half. He had an effort saved by Majecki early on. Rangers continued to pile on the pressure as Sheyi Ojo had his shot, which looked destined for the top corner tipped over the bar by the Polish goalkeeper to keep it 0-0.

The referee had to call the game to a halt midway through the second half. The Legia Warsaw fans set off a number of pyrotechnics, which caused a cloud of smoke covering the pitch. UEFA have already hit Rangers with sanctions over their fan behaviour and sectarian singing, which resulted in 3,000 Rangers fans being banished from the stands for this fixture. 

The Gers' fans made up for their diminished numbers as Morelos broke the deadlock one minute into six of added time. The stadium erupted as Morelos headed home Jordan Jones' cross to give his side the one goal advantage. 

Morelos' dramatic winner will be a bonus for Steven Gerrard as his players were saved an extra 30 minutes of fatigue in extra time had the score remained 0-0. Gerrard shouldn't have too many injury concerns going into the clash with Celtic on Sunday. 

Takeaways from the Match

In a very heated game, known hot-head Alfredo Morelos was caught up in a couple of incidents involving a number of both Rangers and Legia players confronting each other. Previously Morelos has been on the receiving end of a red card or booking for getting himself involved but Morelos remained calm and tried to defuse some of the confrontation on the pitch. It is a step in the right direction for the young Colombian as he lost out on his place in the national squad for the 2019 Copa America due to his disciplinary record. His goal makes it 11 goals in Europe for the 23 year old.

Allan McGregor has played a crucial part in Rangers' progression through the qualifiers. After keeping a clean sheet in Warsaw, the veteran keeper pulled off some good stops to keep the visitors from getting an away goal in the return fixture. 

Man of the Match

Nikola Katic was the man of the match. With arguably one of his best performances in a light blue shirt, the central defender looked solid when Legia were on the attack. The Croatian prevented a number of goal scoring chances being created and looks a mature player who is very confident in his own ability to win every tackle. 

Teams

Rangers: McGregor, Tavernier, Goldson, Katic, Barisic (Flanagan 64'), Jack, Davis, Aribo, Arfield (Jones 72'), Ojo (Kamara 90+5'), Morelos.

Legia Warsaw: Majecki, Stolarski (Nagy 73'), Lewczuk, Jedrzejczyk, Martins Rocha, Riberio Dias, Soares Martins, Vesovic, Gvilia, Lima Linhares, Kulenovic (Niezgoda 56')